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READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN, 

&c. 


The  Publiftiers  have  the  pleasure  of  laying  before 
the  public  the  following  teftimonial  of  "  Readings 
for  Young  Men,  Merchants,  Bufmess  Men,  &c.," 
from  the  Hon.  LORENZO  SABINE,  author  of  the  His- 
tory of  the  American  Loyalifts,  &c.,and  Secretary  of 
the  Boston  Board  of  Trade. 

BOSTON,  Dec.  n,  1858. 
MESSRS.  JAMES  MUNROE  &  Co. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  am  delighted  with  the  little  book  "  Read- 
ings for  Young  Men,  Merchants,  Business  Men,  ©V."  (placed  in 
my  hands  by  my  friend,  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Rice,)  and  can- 
not refraim from  telling  you  so.  With  all  my  heart,  I  hope 
gju  will  reprint  it.  The  remarks  which  we  hear  every  day  are 
Ise,  if  the  classes  to  whom  it  is  addressed  do  not  need — much 
need — the  counsels  and  warnings  which  it  contains.  And  I 
think  the  book  would  be  read ;  for  the  author  has  wisely  re- 
membered the  significant  words  placed  over  the  study-dcfor  of  a 
clergyman  of  the  olden  time — "  Be  Short."  Nearly  one  hun- 
dred topics  are  embraced  in  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  i6mo. 
pages  ;  and,  in  the  main,  how  well  are  they  treated  !  How  lofty 
the  tone  of  morality,  how  nice  the  sense  of  personal  and  mercan- 
tile honor,  which  everywhere  appear  ?  The  means  of  success  in 
life,  how  justly  stated  ;  how  frequently  and  earnestly  are  we  re- 
minded that  wealth,  desirable  every  way,  is  not,  after  all,  the 
highest  object  of  pursuit.  Hpw  much  of  the  good,  old  fash- 
ioned common  sense  is  found  in  the  pithy  article  on 'energy 
rightly  and  uprightly  directed  ;  in  that  on  the  difference  between 
energy  and  activity ;  and  those  on  firmness,  attention  to  details, 
integrity,  industry,  steadiness  of  purpose,  sincerity  and  its  con- 
verse ;  on  the  distinction  between  the  man  of  business  and  the 
business  man,  and  on  the  necessity  of  perseverance,  punctuality, 
and  self-reliance.  The  page  devoted  to  "  Character  better  than 
Credit,"  should  be  read  at  the  head  of  every  family  every  day ; 
and  so  should  the  half  page, — "  Maxims  for  Guidance  through 
Life;  "  while  the  "  Aphorisms  for  Business  Men,"  deserve  to 
be  committed  to  memory,  and  to  be  repeated  with  one's  prayers 
at  night ;  and  what  a  gem  is  that  other  half  page — "  What  a 
Merchant  should  be."  But  enough ;  I  meant  to  drop  a  line 
merely,  and  will  stop  ere  I  write  a  letter. 
Very  truly, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

LORENZO  SABINE. 


READINGS 


YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


MEN   OF    BUSINESS. 


REPRINTED   FROM  THE   LONDON  EDITION. 


BOSTON  AND  CAMBRIDGE: 
JAMES  MUNROE  AND    COMPANY. 

M  DCCC  LIX. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858,  by 

JAMES  MCNBOE  AND  COMPANY, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


RIVEBSIDX,  CAMBRIDGE: 

PRINTED  BT  H.  0.  HOCOHTON  AND  COMPANY 


DEDICATED 

TO  THE  READERS  OF  "THE  SUCCESSFUL  MERCHANT.1 


2030030 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Activity  is  not  always  Energy 14 

Advice  to  a  Reckless  Youth 154 

Advantages  of  Reading 155 

Advice  to  his  Son,  by  William  Cecil,  Lord  Burleigh 157 

Advice  to  a  Young  Tradesman 165 

Aids  and  Hindrances  to  Success  in  Mercantile  Pursuits 24 

Alpha  and  Omega;  or,  the  Secret  of  Success 85 

A  Model  Warehouse 67 

An  Application  for  a  Clerkship 77 

Anecdote  for  Young  Men  entering  Commercial  Life 60 

A  Philadelphia  Merchant 48 

Aphorisms  for  Business  Men 168 

A  Word  to  Young  Men 33 

A  Word  to  Merchants 95 

A  Wheeling  Article 120 

Be  careful  of  Smalt  Things 74 

Business  first,  then  Pleasure 115 

Bye-and-Bye 147 

Carlyle's  Advice  to  Young  Men 98 

Character  better  than  Credit 68 

Character  and  Capital 70 

Cheer  up 96 

Choice'of  Friends 115 

Competition  in  Trade 62 

Courage 171 

Delays 141 

Depend  on  Yourself. . .". 113 

Difficulty  and  Perseverance 66 


viii  CONTEXTS. 

PAOB 

Difficulties 121 

Duty  of  Trusting  to  Ourselves 40 

Early   Rising 53 

Easy  Way  of  Gaining  or  Losing  Five  Years  of  Life 116 

Energy  versus  Despair 12 

Energetic   Men 27 

Extract  from  Sir  Fowell  Buxton's  Letter  to  his  Son 127 

Firmness  important  to  the  Merchant 17 

Four  Good  Words 172 

Fowell   Buxton's  Motto 128 

Gambling 93 

Getting  on  in  the  World 112 

Go  ahead 145 

Good  Advice 143 

Habits  of  a  Man  of  Business 34 

Hints 118 

How  to  Prosper  in  Business 38 

How  to  make  Money 92 

Idleness 61 

Importance  of  Trifles 36 

Industry  and  Integrity 31 

Industry  and  its  Blessings 119 

Integrity  the  Foundation  of  Mercantile  Character 21 

Integrity  of  Character 23 

It  will  never  do  to  be  Idle 123 

Jefferson's  Ten  Rules 94 

Keep  your  Promise 54 

Keep  your  Designs  to  Yourself 80 

Make  a  Beginning 117 

Maxims  for  Guidance  through  Life 120 

Micawber's  Advice 92 

Moral  Agriculture 171 

Much  Wisdom  in  Little Ill 

Necessary  Hints  to  those  that  would  be  Rich 163 

Never  do  too  much  at  a  Time 76 

Now ! 147 

Parsimony  and  Economy  in  Trade : 88 

Paste  this  up  in  your  Mind 114 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGI 

Perseverance 144 

Perseverance 148 

Pick  up  that  Pin ;  or,  Hints  for  Business  Men 19 

Polonius's  Advice  to  his  Son 126 

Punctuality  in  all  Things 72 

Punctuality 172 

Rules  of  M'Donogh,  the  Millionnaire  of  New  Orleans 102 

Rules  for  Reading 156 

Save,  Save,  Save! 97 

Self-Reliance  important  to  the  Merchant 90 

Self-Reliance 129 

Sincerity  and  Insincerity 42 

Steadiness  of  Purpose 32 

Stick  to  your  Business 82 

Success  in  Life  depends  on  Perseverance 56 

The  Beginnings  of  Character 28 

The  Good  Merchant 105 

The  Man  of  Business  and  the  Business  Man 46 

The  Man  retired  from  Business , 51 

The  Right  Aim 80 

The  Right  Man  for  Business 112 

The  Secret  of  Success 64 

The  True  Man  of  Business .130 

The  Way  to  Get  On  in  the  World 39 

The  Way  to  make  Money  plenty  in  Every  Man's  Pocket 164 

To-Day  and  To-Morrow 85 

To-Morrow 94 

What  a  Man  of  Business  should  be 11 

What  a  Merchant  should  be 13 

What  is  Luck? 125 

Wild  Young  Men 142 


READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN. 


WHAT  A  MAN  OF  BUSINESS   SHOULD  BE. 

A  MAN  of  business  should  be  able  to  fix  his  attention 
on  details,  and  be  ready  to  give  every  kind  of  argument 
a  hearing.  This  will  not  encumber  him,  for  he  must 
have  been  practised  beforehand  in  the  exercise  of  his  in- 
tellect, and  be  strong  in  principles.  One  man  collects 
materials  together,  and  there  they  remain  a  shapeless 
heap ;  another,  possessed  of  method,  can  arrange  what 
he  has  collected ;  but  such  a  man  as  I  would  describe, 
by  the  aid  of  principles  goes  farther,  and  builds  with  his 
materials. 

He  should  be  courageous.  The  courage,  however,  re- 
quired in  civil  affairs,  is  that  which  belongs  rather  to  the 
able  commander  than  the  mere  soldier.  But  any  kind 
of  courage  is  serviceable. 

Besides  a  stout  heart,  he  should  have  a  patient  tem- 
perament, and  a  vigorous  but  disciplined  imagination  ; 
and  then  he  will  plan  boldly,  and  with  large  extent  of 
view  execute  calmly,  and  not  be  stretching  out  his  hand 
for  things  not  yet  within  his  grasp.  He  will  let  oppor- 


12    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

tunities  grow  before  his  eyes  until  they  are  ripe  to  be 
seized.  He  will  think  steadily  over  possible  failure,  in 
order  to  provide  a  remedy  or  a  retreat.  There  will  be 
the  strength  of  repose  about  him. 

.  He  must  have  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility.  He 
must  believe  in  the  power  and  vitality  of  truth ;  and  in 
all  he  does  or  says,  should  be  anxious  to  express  as  much 
truth  as  possible.  * 

His  feeling  of  responsibility  and  love  of  truth  will 
almost  inevitably  endow  him  with  diligence,  accuracy, 
and  discreetness — those  commonplace  requisites  for  a 
good  man  of  business,  without  which  all  the  rest  may 
never  come  to  be  "  translated  into  action." 


ENERGY  versus  DESPAIR. 

WITHOUT  this  distinguishing  mark  of  true  manhood, 
we  fail  in  securing  either  the  happiness  of  ourselves  or 
others.  Without  ENERGY  a  man  becomes  a  drone  in 
society,  a  nonentity  in  the  world.  There  are  special 
occasions  in  the  life  of  every  man,  when  he  needs  to  fall 
back  upon  the  natural  energy  of  his  nature.  Do  afflic- 
tions, sad  and  grievous,  weigh  him  down,  and  seem  to 
crush  him  to  the  earth  ?  Let  him  remember  that  this  is 
but  the  "  cup  "  which  his  Divine  Master  has  given  him 
— the  ''  furnace  "  which  is  to  purify  his  soul,  and  fit  him 
for  the  heavenly  rest  hereafter.  Rise,  then,  afflicted  man ! 
Put  forth  the  energy  you  possess,  and  soar  above  your 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  13 

sorrows.  Perhaps  your  business  cares  are  such  as  to 
cause  you  many  anxious  days  and  sleepless  nights.  The 
times  are  hard,  money  is  almost  out  of  the  question,  and 
you  feel  like  folding  your  arms  and  giving  up  in  despair. 
We  hear  of  such  cases  every  day.  Don't  look  Upon  the 
dark  side  of  the  picture  !  Keep  moving  !  If  you  fail  of 
success  in  one  place,  try  another,  and  give  yourself  no 
rest  till  you  triumph. 

The  world  is  large  enough  for  us  all,  and,  as  the  song 
says : 

"  Uncle  Sam  is  rich  enough 
To  give  us  all  a  farm." 

Remember  that  the  world  does  not  contain  a  brier  or  a 
thorn  that  divine  mercy  could  have  spared.  These  very 
briers  and  thorns  which  encompass  you,  are  the  instru- 
ments which  will  try  the  energy  of  your  character,  and 
settle  your  capacity  to  fulfil  the  mission  of  life.  To  all 
then,  we  say,  suffer  no  feeling  of  despondency  to  weigh 
you  down.  Rise  triumphantly  above  all  your  sorrows 
and  troubles,  and  you  will  make^  the  world  better  and 
happier  for  having  been  born  in  it. 


WHAT  A  MERCHANT  SHOULD  BE. 

A  MERCHANT  should  be  an  honourable  man.  Al- 
though a  man  cannot  be  an  honourable  man  without 
being  an  honest  man,  yet  a  man  may  be  strictly  honest 
without  being  honourable.  Honesty  refers  to  pecuniary 


14          READINGS    FOB   YOUNG   MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

affairs ;  honour  refers  to  the  principles  and  feelings.  You 
may  pay  your  debts  punctually,  you  may  defraud  no  man, 
and  yet  you  may  act  dishonourably.  You  act  dishonour- 
ably when  you  give  your  correspondents  a  worse  opinion 
of  your  rivals  in  trade  than  you  know  they  deserve. 
You  act  dishonourably  when  you  sell  your  commodities 
at  less  than  their  real  value,  in  order  to  get  away  your 
neighbour's  customers.  You  act  dishonourably  when  you 
purchase  at  higher  than  the  market  price,  in  order  that 
you  may  raise  the  market  upon  another  buyer.  You  act 
dishonourably  when  you  draw  accommodation  bills,  and 
pass  them  to  your  banker  for  discount,  as  if  they  arose 
out  of  real  transactions.  You  act  dishonourably  in  every 
case  wherein  your  external  conduct  is  at  variance  with 
your  real  opinions.  You  act  dishonourably  if,  when 
carrying  on  a  prosperous  trade,  you  do  not  allow  your 
servants  and  assistants,  through  whose  exertions  you  ob- 
tain your  success,  to  participate  in  your  prosperity.  You 
act  dishonourably  if,  after  you  have  become  rich,  you  are 
unmindful  of  the  favours  you  received  when  poor.  In  all 
these  cases  there  may  be  no  intentional  fraud  ;  it  may  not 
be  dishonest,  but  it  is  dishonourable  conduct. 


ACTIVITY  IS  NOT  ALWAYS  ENERGY. 

THERE  are  some  men,  whose  failure  to  succeed  in  life 
is  a  problem  to  others,  as  well  as  themselves.  They  are 
industrious,  prudent,  and  economical;  yet,  after  a  long 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  15 

life  of  striving,  old  age  finds  them  still  poor.  They  com- 
plain of  ill-luck.  They  say  fate  is  always  against  them. 
But  the  fact  is,  they  miscarry  because  they  have  mistaken 
mere  activity  for  energy.  Confounding  two  things  essen- 
tially different,  they  have  supposed  that,  if  they  were 
always  busy,  they  would  be  certain  to  be  advancing  their 
fortunes. 

They  have  forgotten  that  misdirected  labour  is  but  a 
waste  of  activity.  The  person  who  would  succeed  in 
life,  is  like  a  marksman  firing  at  a  target ;  if  his  shots 
miss  the  mark,  they  are  a  waste  of  powder  ;  to  be  of  any 
service  at  all,  they  must  tell  hi  the  bull's-eye,  or  near. 
So,  in  the  great  game  of  life,  what  a  man  does  must  be 
made  to  count,  or  it  had  almost  as  well  been  left  undone. 
The  idle  warrior,  cut  from  a  shingle,  who  fights  the 
air  on  the  top  of  a  weathercock,  instead  of  being  made  to 
turn  some  machine  commensurate  with  his  strength,  is 
not  more  worthless  than  the  merely  active  man,  who, 
though  busy  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  dissipates  his  labour 
on  trifles,  when  he  ought  skilfully  to  concentrate  it  on 
some  great  end. 

Everybody  knows  some  one  in  his  circle  of  acquaint- 
ance, who,  though  always  active,  has  this  want  of  energy. 
The  distemper,  if  we  may  call  it  such,  exhibits  itself  in 
various  ways.  In  some  cases,  the  man  has  merely  an 
executive  faculty  when  he  should  have  a  directive  one  ; 
in  other  language,  he  makes  a  capital  clerk  for  himself, 
when  he  ought  to  do  the  thinking  of  the  business.  In 
other  cases,  what  is  done  is  either  not  done  at  the  right 
time,  or  in  the  right  way.  Sometimes  there  is  no  dis- 
tinction made  between  objects  of  different  magnitudes, 


16    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

but  as  much  labour  is  bestowed  in  a  trivial  affair  as  on  a 
matter  of  vast  moment. 

Energy,  correctly  understood,  is  actively  proportioned 
to  the  end.  Napoleon  would  often,  when  in  a  campaign, 
remain  for  days  without  taking  off  his  clothes,  now  gallop- 
ing from  point  to  point,  now  dictating  despatches,  now 
studying  maps.  But  his  periods  of  repose,  when  the 
crisis  was  over,  were  generally  as  protracted  as  his  exer- 
tions had  been.  He  has  been  known  to  sleep  for  eighteen 
hours  on  a  stretch.  Second-rate  men,  your  slaves  of  tape 
and  routine,  while  they  would  fall  short  of  the  super- 
human exertions  of  the  great  Emperor,  would  have 
thought  themselves  lost,  beyond  hope,  if  they  imitated 
what  they  call  his  indolence.  They  are  capital  illustra- 
tions of  activity,  keeping  up  their  monotonous  jog-trot  for 
ever ;  while  Napoleon,  with  his  gigantic  industry,  alter- 
nating with  such  apparent  idleness,  is  as  striking  an 
example  of  energy. 

We  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  chronic  indolence,  if 
relieved  occasionally  by  spasmodic  fits  of  industry,  is  to 
be  recommended.  Men  who  have  this  character  run 
into  the  opposite  extreme  of  that  which  we  have  been 
stigmatizing,  and  fail  as  invariably  of  winning  success  in 
life.  To  call  their  occasional  periods  of  application 
energy,  would  be  a  sad  misnomer.  Such  persons,  in- 
deed, are  but  civilized  savages,  so  to  speak ;  vagabonds 
at  heart  in  their  secret  hatred  of  work,  and  only  resort- 
ing to  labour  occasionally,  like  the  wild  Indian,  who, 
after  lying  for  weeks  about  his  hut,  is  roused  by  sheer 
hunger,  and  starts  off  on  a  hunting  excursion.  Real 
energy  is  persevering,  steady,  disciplined.  It  never 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  17 

either  loses  sight  of  the  object  to  be  accomplished,  or 
intermits  its  exertions  while  there  is  a  possibility  of  suc- 
cess. Napoleon,  in  the  plains  of  Champagne,  sometimes 
fighting  two  battles  in  one  day,  first  defeating  the  Rus- 
sians, and  then  turning  on  the  Austrians,  is  an  illustra- 
tion of  this  energy.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  dawdling 
away  precious  time  when  he  invaded  France  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  first  revolution,  is  an  example  to  the 
contrary.  Activity  beats  about  a  cover  like  an  untrained 
dog,  never  lighting  on  the  covey.  Energy  goes  straight 
to  the  bird. 


FIRMNESS  IMPORTANT  TO   THE  MERCHANT. 

THERE  is  no  truth  of  human  character  so  potential 
for  weal  or  woe  as  firmness.  To  the  merchant  it  is  all- 
important.  Before  its  irresistible  energy  the  most  for- 
midable obstacles  become  as  cobweb  barriers  in  its  path. 
Difficulties,  the  terror  of  which  causes  the  pampered 
sons  of  luxury  to  shrink  back  with  dismay,  provoke  from 
the  man  of  lofty  determination  only  a  smile.  The  whole 
history  of  our  race — all  nature  indeed — teems  with  ex- 
amples to  show  what  wonders  may  be  accomplished  by 
resolute  perseverance  and  patient  toil. 

It  is  related  of  Tamerlane,  the  celebrated  warrior,  the 
terror  of  whose  arms  spread  through  all  the  eastern  na- 
tions, and  whom  victory  attended  at  almost  every  step, 
that  he  once  learned  from  an  insect  a  lesson  of  persever- 
2 


18    READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

ance,  which  had  a  striking  effect  on  his  future  character 
and  success. 

When  closely  pursued  by  his  enemies,  as  a  contem- 
porary tells  the  anecdote,  he  took  refuge  in  some  old 
rums,  where,  left  to  his  solitary  musings,  he  espied  an 
ant  tugging  and  striving  to  carry  a  single  grain  of  corn. 
His  unavailing  efforts  were  repeated  sixty-nine  times, 
and  at  each  several  time,  as  soon  as  he  reached  a  certain 
point  of  projection,  he  fell  back  with  his  burden,  unable 
to  surmount  it;  but  the  seventieth  time  he  bore  away 
his  spoil  in  triumph,  and  left  the  wondering  hero  reani- 
mated and  exulting  in  the  hope  of  future  victory. 

How  pregnant  the  lesson  this  incident  conveys !  How 
many  thousand  instances  there  are  in  which  inglorious 
defeat  ends  the  career  of  the  timid  and  desponding,  when 
the  same  tenacity  of  purpose  would  crown  it  with  trium- 
phant success ! 

Resolution  is  almost  omnipotent.  Sheridan  was  at 
first  timid,  and  obliged  to  sit  down  in  the  middle  of  a 
speech.  Convinced  of,  and  mortified  at,  the  cause  of 
his  failure,  he  said  one  day  to  a  friend — "  It  is  in  me, 
and  it  shah1  come  out."  From  that  moment  he  rose,  and 
shone,  and  triumphed  in  a  consummate  eloquence.  Here 
was  true  and  moral  courage.  And  it  was  well  observed 
by  a  heathen  moralist,  that  it  is  not  because  things  are 
difficult  that  we  dare  not  undertake  them.  Be,  then, 
bold  in  spirit.  Indulge  no  doubts ;  they  are  traitors. 
In  the  practical  pursuit  of  our  high  aim,  let  us  never* 
lose  sight  of  it  in  the  slightest  instance ;  for  it  is  more 
by  a  disregard  of  small  things,  than  by  open  and  flagrant 
offences,  that  men  come  short  of  excellence.  There  is 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  19 

always  a  right  and  a  wrong ;  and,  if  you  ever  doubt,  be 
sure  you  take  not  the  wrong.  Observe  this  rule,  and 
every  experience  will  be  to  you  a  means  of  advance- 
ment. 


PICK  UP  THAT  PIN ;  OR,  HINTS  FOR  BUSINESS 
MEN. 

PICK  up  that  pin;  let  that  account  be  correct  to  a 
farthing ;  find  out  what  that  ribbon  costs  before  you  say, 
"  You  will  take  it ; "  pay  that  halfpenny  your  friend 
handed  you  to  give  change ;  in  a  word,  be  economical, 
be  accurate,  know  what  you  are  doing — be  honest,  and 
then  generous  ;  for  all  you  have  or  acquire  thus  belongs 
to  you,  by  every  rule  of  right,  and  you  may  put  it  to 
any  good  use  if  you  acquire  it  justly  and  honestly ;  for 
you  have  a  foundation,  a  background,  which  will  always 
keep  you  above  the  waves  of  evil.  It  is  not  parsimo- 
nious to  be  economical.  It  is  not  selfish  to  be  correct  in 
your  dealings.  It  is  not  small  to  know  the  price  of 
articles  you  are  about  to  purchase,  or  to  remember  the 
little  debt  you  owe.  "What  if  you  do  meet  Bill  Pride, 
decked  out  in  a  much  better  suit  than  yours,  the  price  of 
which  he  has  not  yet  learned  from  his  tailor,  and  he 
laughs  at  your  faded  dress  and  old-fashioned  notions  of 
honesty  and  right,  your  day  will  come.  Franklin,  who, 
from  a  saving  boy  walking  the  street  with  a  roll  under 
his  arm,  became  a  companion  for  kings,  says — "  Take 
care  of  the  pennies,  and  the  pounds  will  take  care  of 


20          READINGS    FOR   YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

themselves."  La  Fitte,  the  celebrated  French  banker, 
leaving  the  house  to  which  he  had  applied  for  a  clerk- 
ship, was  not  too  proud  or  careless  to  pick  up  a  pin. 
This  simple  pin  laid  the  foundation  of  his  immense 
wealth.  The  wise  banker  saw  the  act,  called  him  back, 
and  gave  him  employment,  convicted  by  the  seeming 
small  circumstance  of  his  ability  and  honesty.  Be  just, 
and  then  be  generous.  Yes,  be  just  always,  and  then 
you  can  always  be  generous.  Benevolence  is  a  great 
duty,  a  heaven-given  privilege,  by  which  you  not  only 
benefit  the  object,  but  feel  a  sensation  of  joy  in  your  own 
soul,  which  is  worth  more,  far  more,  than  gain.  But 
you  may  not  give  your  neighbour's  goods.  Your  own 
just  earnings  you  should  always  share  with  the  needy, 
but  generosity  can  never  be  measured  by  the  amount 
you  lavish  on  a  fine  dress,  or  that  you  spend  with  your 
friends  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  vanity  and  folly. 
What  if  they  do  pat  you  on  the  shoulder  ?  They  would 
do  as  much  for  any  dog  that  would  serve  them.  It  is 
the  service,  not  yourself,  that  gets  the  flattery,  or  you 
spend  your  money  for  nought,  certainly.  Well,  let  the 
girl  say  you  are  small,  rather  than  spend  that  money  you 
need  for  a  book.  Get  the  book  if  it  is  a  good  one  ;  it 
will  tell  you  that  no  girl  worth  having  ever  selected  a 
man  for  a  husband  for  his  long  tailor  and  livery  stable 
bill,  more  than  for  his  long  ears. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  21 


'  INTEGRITY  THE  FOUNDATION   OF  MERCAN- 
TILE  CHARACTER. 

FAITH  and  trustfulness  lie  at  the  foundation  of  trade 
and  commercial  intercourse,  and  business  transactions  of 
every  kind.  A  community  of  known  swindlers  and 
knaves  would  try,  in  vain,  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
advantages  of  traffic,  or  to  gain  access  to  those  circles 
•where  honour  and  honesty  are  indispensable  passports. 
The  reason  why  savage  hordes  are  suspected  and  shun- 
ned, is  because  they  are  deceitful  and  treacherous.  We 
have  no  faith  in  their  promises.  If  they  manifest  kind- 
ness and  friendship,  we  apprehend  it  is  for  the  sake  of 
more  successfully  accomplishing  their  selfish  and  ma- 
licious purposes.  So  of  cheats  and  knaves,  under  what- 
ever circumstances  we  may  meet  them.  However  fair 
may  be  their  exterior,  we  know  they  are  black  at  heart  ; 
and  we  shrink  from  them  as  from  the  most  deadly  poison. 
Hence  the  value  which  is  attached,  by  all  right-minded 
men,  to  purity  of  purpose  and  integrity  of  character.  A 
man  may  be  unfortunate,  he  may  be  poor  and  penniless  ; 
but  if  he  is  known  to  possess  unbending  integrity,  an 
unwavering  purpose  to  do  what  is  honest  and  just,  he 
will  have  friends  and  patrons  whatever  may  be  the  em- 
barrassments and  exigencies  into  which  he  is  thrown. 
The  poor  man  may  thus  possess  a  capital  of  which  none 
of  the  misfortunes  and  calamities  of  life  can  deprive  him. 
We  have  known  men  who  have  suddenly  been  reduced 
from  affluence  to  penury  by  some  dispensation  of  Provi- 
dence which  they  could  neither  foresee  nor  prevent.  A 


22    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

fire  has  swept  away  the  accumulation  of  years,  or  mis- 
placed confidence,  or  a  flood,  or  some  of  the  thousand 
casualties  to  which  we  are  exposed,  has  stripped  them 
of  their  possessions.  To-day  they  are  prosperous ;  to- 
morrow every  prospect  is  blighted,  and  every  thing  in 
its  aspect  is  dark  and  dismal.  Their  business  is  gone, 
their  property  is  gone,  and  they  feel  that  all  is  gone ; 
but  they  have  a  rich  treasure  which  the  fire  cannot  con- 
sume, which  the  flood  cannot  carry  away.  They  have 
integrity  of  character,  and  this  gives  them  influence,  and 
raises  up  friends,  and  furnishes  them  with  pecuniary 
aid. 

Young  men,  especially,  should  be  deeply  impressed 
with  the  vast  importance  of  cherishing  those  principles, 
and  of  cultivating  those  habits  which  will  secure  for 
them  the  confidence  and  the  esteem  of  the  wise  and  good. 
Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  no  brilliancy  of  genius,  no 
tact  or  talent  in  business,  and  no  amount  of  success,  will 
compensate  for  duplicity,  shuffling,  and  trickery.  There 
may  be  apparent  advantage  in  the  art  of  dissimulation, 
and  in  violating  those  great  principles  which  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  truth  and  duty ;  but  it  will  at  length  be 
seen,  that  a  pound  was  lost  where  a  penny  was  gained ; 
that  present  successes  are  outweighed,  a  thousand-fold, 
by  the  pains  and  penalties  which  result  from  loss  of  con- 
fidence and  loss  of  character.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly 
impressed  upon  our  young  men  to  abstain  from  every 
course,  from  every  act,  which  shocks  their  moral  sensi- 
bilities, wounds  their  conscience,  and  has  a  tendency  to 
weaken  that  nice  sense  of  honour  and  integrity  so  indis- 
pensable to  character.  The  habit  of  concealment,  of  dis- 


AND   MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  23 

simulation,  of  telling  "  white  lies,"  as  Mrs.  Opie  calls 
them,  is  most  disastrous  in  all  its  influences  and  issues. 
How  many  have  become  confirmed  liars,  and  been  con- 
signed to  dishonour  and  infamy,  who  began  their  career 
in  this  way!  Language  is  utterly  inadequate  to  describe 
the  amazing,  the  infinite  importance  to  our  young  men, 
of  forming  their  characters  by  the  right  models,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  unchanging  principles  of  truth. 
Who  has  not  read,  with  deep  interest,  the  incident  in  the 
life  of  Washington,  who,  when  he  had  injured  a  favourite 
tree  of  his  father's,  frankly  confesssd  his  offence,  because 
he  "could  not  tell  a  lie?"  Here  was  manifest  one  of 
these  essential  elements  of  character  which  made  Wash- 
ington first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen. 


INTEGRITY  OF  CHARACTER. 

WHO  ever  possessed  it,  that  did  not  derive  untold  ad- 
vantages from  it  ?  It  is  better  than  the  gold  of  Ophir  ; 
it  is  of  more  value  than  diamonds  and  all  precious  stones. 
And  yet  every  man  may  possess  it.  The  poorest  may 
have  it,  and  no  power  can  wrest  it  from  them.  To 
young  jnen,  we  say  with  earnestness  and  emphasis,  look 
at  integrity  of  character  with  the  blessings  it  confers,  and 
imbibe  such  principles,  and  pursue  such  a  course,  that 
its  benefits  may  be  yours.  It  is  a  prize  so  rich  that  it 
repays  every  sacrifice  and  every  trial  riecessary  to  secure 


24    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEX,  MERCHANTS, 

it  Suppose  a  mercantile  community  could  be  found 
whose  every  individual  was  known  and  acknowledged  to 
possess  strict  and  uncompromising  integrity,  the  repre- 
sentations .of  each  one  were  in  strict  accordance  with 
truth — his  word  as  good  as  his  bond — such  a  community 
would  hav*e  a  monopoly  of  the  trade,  so  far  as  they  had 
the  means  of  supplying  the  demand.  The  tricks  of  trade, 
whatever  be  their  apparent  advantages,  impair  confi- 
dence, and,  in  the  end,  injure  those  who  practise  them 
far  more  than  they  benefit  them.  It  is  a  shortsighted 
as  well  as  a  guilty  policy,  to  swerve,  under  any  circum- 
stances, from  those  great  principles  which  are  of  univer- 
sal and  everlasting  obligation.  Let  a  man  maintain  his 
integrity  at  all  times,  and  he  will  be  satisfied  there  is  a 
blessing  in  it,  and  a  blessing  flowing  from  it,  and  a  bless- 
ing all  around  it. 


AIDS  AND  HINDRANCES  TO   SUCCESS  IN  MER- 
CANTILE PURSUITS. 

As  in  no  department  of  life  is  success  more  earnestly 
desired,  or  more  perseveringly  sought,  than  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place,  in  a  work  like  the 
present,  to  exhibit  all  the  aids  and  hindrances  to  a  con- 
summation so  devoutly  wished  by  the  thousands  that 
crowd  the  marts  and  thoroughfares  of  commercial  life. 
With  this  view,  we  quote  some  sensible  suggestions  from 
that  very  exceljent  work,  Companions  of  my  Solitude, 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  25 

which  the  reader  is  earnestly  requested  to  "  mark,  learn, 
and  inwardly  digest :  " — 

"  One  of  the  great  aids  or  hindrances  to  success  in 
any  thing,  lies  in  the  temperament  of  a  man.  I  do  not 
know  yours  ;  but  I  venture  to  point  out  to  you  what  is 
the  best  temperament,  namely,  a  combination  of  the  des- 
ponding and  the  resolute  ;  or,  as  I  had  better  express  it, 
of  the  apprehensive  and  the  resolute.  Such  is  the  tem- 
perament of  great  commanders.  Secretly,  they  rely 
upon  nothing  and  upon  nobody.  There  is  such  a  pow- 
erful element  of  failure  in  all  human  affairs,  that  a 
shrewd  man  is  always  saying  to  himself,  '  What  shall  I 
do,  if  that  which  I  count  upon  does  not  come  out  as  I 
expect  ? '  This  foresight  dwai-fs  and  crushes  all  but  men 
of  great  resolution. 

"  Then,  be  not  over  choice  in  looking  out  for  what 
may  exactly  suit  you  ;  but  rather  be  ready  to  adopt  any 
opportunities  that  occur.  Fortune  does  not  stoop  often 
to  take  any  one  up.  Favourable  opportunities  will  not 
happen  precisely  in  the  way  that  you  have  imagined. 
Nothing  does.  Do  not  be  discouraged,  therefore,  by  a 
present  detriment  in  any  course  which  may  lead  to  some- 
thing good.  Time  is  so  precious  here. 

"  Get,  if  you  can,  into  one  or  other  of  the  main  grooves 
of  human  affairs.  It  is  all  the  difference  of  going  by 
railway,  and  walking  over  a  ploughed  field,  whether  you 
adopt  common  sources,  or  set  up  one  for  yourself.  You 
will  see,  if  your  times  are  any  thing  like  ours,  most  in- 
ferior persons  highly  placed  in  the  army,  in  the  church, 
in  office,  at  the  bar.  They  have  somehow  got  upon  the 
line,  and  have  moved  on  well,  with  very  little  original 


26    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

motive-power  of  their  own.  Do  not  let  this  make  you 
talk  as  if  merit  was  utterly  neglected  in  these  or  any 
professions :  only  that  getting  well  into  the  groove  will 
frequently  do  instead  of  any  great  excellence. 

***** 

"  Whatever  happens,  do  not  be  dissatisfied  with  your 
worldly  fortunes,  lest  that  speech  be  justly  made  to  you, 
which  was  once  made  to  a  repining  person  much  given 
to  talk  of  how  great  she  and  hers  had  been — 'Yes, 
madam,'  was  the  crushing  reply, '  we  all  find  our  level  at 
last.' 

"  Eternally  that  fable  is  true,  of  a  choice  being  given 
to  men  on  their  entrance  into  life.  Two  majestic  women 
stand  before  you  ;  one  in  rich  vesture,  superb  with  what 
seems  like  a  mural  crown  on  her  head,  and  plenty  in  her 
hand,  and  something  of  triumph,  I  will  not  say  of  bold- 
ness, in  her  eye,  and  she,  the  queen  of  this  world,  can 
give  you  many  things.  The  other  is  beautiful,  but  not 
alluring,  nor  rich,  nor  powerful,  and  there  are  traces  of 
care,  and  shame,  and  sorrow,  in  her  face ;  and  (marvel- 
lous to  say)  her  look  is  downcast  and  yet  noble.  She 
can  give  you  nothing,  but  she  can  make  you  somebody. 
If  you  cannot  bear  to  part  from  her  sweet,  sublime 
Countenance,  which  hardly  veils  with  sorrow  its  infinity, 
follow  her — follow  her,  I  say,  if  you  are  really  minded 
so  to  do ;  but  do  not,  while  you  are  on  this  track,  look 
back  with  ill-concealed  envy  on  the  glittering  things 
which  fall  in  the  path  of  those  who  prefer  to  follow  the 
rich  dame,  and  to  pick  up  the  riches  and  honours  which 
fall  from  her  cornucopia. 

"  This  is,  in  substance,  what  a  true  artist  said  to  me 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  27 

only  the  other  day,  impatient  as  he  told  me,  of  the  com- 
plaints of  those  who  would  pursue  art,  and  yet  would 
have  fortune." 


ENERGETIC  MEN. 

WE  love  upright,  energetic  men.  Pull  them  this  way, 
and  then  that  way,  and  the  other,  and  they  only  bend, 
but  never  break.  Trip  them  down,  and  in  a  trice  they 
are  on  their  feet.  Bury  them  in  the  mud,  and  in  an 
hour  they  will  be  out  and  bright.  They  are  not  ever 
yawning  away  existence,  or  walking  about  the  world  as 
if  they  had  come  into  it  with  only  half  their  soul ;  you 
cannot  keep  them  down  ;  you  cannot  destroy  them.  But 
for  these  the  world  would  soon  degenerate.  They  are 
the  salt  of  the  earth.  Who  but  they  start  any  noble 
project  ?  They  build  our  cities  and  rear  our  manufac- 
tories ;  they  whiten  the  ocean  with  their  sails,  and  they 
blacken  the  heavens  with  the  smoke  of  their  steam  ves- 
sels and  furnace  fires  ;  they  draw  treasures  from  the 
mine ;  they  plough  the  earth.  Blessings  on  them ! 
Look  to  them,  young  men,  and  take  courage  ;  imitate 
their  example ;  catch  the  spirit  of  their  energy  and 
enterprise,  and  you  will  deserve,  and  no  doubt  command, 
success. 


28     READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

THE  BEGINNINGS   OF  CHARACTER. 

"  The  wild,  the  reckless,  and  the  indiscreet— 
His  word  was  always  doubted." 

IT  not  unfrequently  happens  that  young  men  damage 
themselves  for  life,  or  at  least  for  many  years,  by  what 
to  them  appear  as  trifling  or  unimportant  errors.  They 
violate  the  truth,  form  reckless  associations,  and  neglect 
positive  engagements.  Thus,  at  the  very  beginning,  they 
impair  confidence,  excite  suspicion,  and  create  distrust. 
Character  is  a  jewel  of  priceless  value,  and  yet  it  is 
easily  impaired  or  tarnished.  The  young,  generally 
speaking,  do  not  appreciate  its  importance,  because  they 
lack  experience,  and  know  but  little  of  the  world  and 
its  severity.  An  individual,  for  example,  who  is  in  the 
habit  of  repeating  all  sorts  of  wild  and  improbable  stories 
— who  boasts,  exults,  and  magnifies — is  at  first  looked 
upon  with  surprise  and  caution  by  the  intelligent  and 
discerning,  and  then,  detected  in  some  monstrous  fabri- 
cation, he  is  distrusted  and  avoided.  Thus,  in  an  effort 
to  appear  what  he  is  not,  and  to  occupy  a  position  to 
which  he  is  not  entitled,  he  destroys  his  character,  and 
loses  friends  who  otherwise  would  prove  useful  to  him. 

The  young  and  indiscreet  do  not  appreciate  the  reali- 
ties of  life,  but  permit  fancy  and  folly  to  mislead  them. 
They  do  not  remember  that  character  is,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, like  an  edifice  that  is  intended,  not  for  a  day  or  an 
hour,  but  for  years,  and  hence  its  foundation  should  be  of 
the  best  material.  The  advanced  in  life  are,  perhaps, 
too  severe  and  too  critical.  They  do  not  make  sufficient 


AND    MEN    OP   BUSINESS.  29 

allowance  for  the  indiscretions  and  the  impulses  of  youth. 
Hence  they  are  often  disposed  to  consider  as  vices  what 
are  in  fact  merely  foibles — foibles,  too,  which  might 
readily  be  modified  and  amended,  if  not  wholly  cured. 
When,  however,  the  habit  of  exaggeration  and  falsehood 
becomes  so  fixed  that  it  forms  a  feature  of  character ; 
when  engagements  are  made,  pecuniary  or  otherwise, 
without  any  intention  of  fulfilling  them — the  reputation 
soon  becomes  damaged  to  so  serious  an  extent  that  it  can 
never  be  redeemed  or  established. 

Not  a  few  individuals  among  the  young  indulge  in  the 
error,  that  by  extravagance  of  speech,  recklessness  of 
sentiment,  and  insolence  of  manners,  they  make  them- 
selves important,  and  excite  envy  and  astonishment. 
The  mistake  is  a  fearful  one.  The  only  feelings  pro- 
duced among  the  sensible  and  observing,  are  those  of 
pity  and  contempt.  If,  in  brief,  a  statement  cannot  be 
relied  upon  because  of  the  known  habit  of  the  person 
who  makes  it  to  falsify  and  exaggerate,  thereafter  his 
career  in  life  and  society  will  be  disreputable  and  down- 
ward, and  at  the  most  rapid  rate.  The  beginnings  of 
character  cannot  be  too  carefully  attended  to.  Tempta- 
tions beset  the  young  on  all  sides.  In  the  first  place, 
they  have  to  resist  their  own  evil  passions  and  weak- 
nesses, as  well  as  their  inexperience ;  and,  in  the  second, 
the  evil  associations  with  which  society  abounds,  and 
the  many  Allurements  which  pleasure  and  profligacy  hold 
out.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  great  cities.  The 
chief  peril  may  be  said  to  exist  within  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  twenty-five.  It  is  at  that  period  that  the 
character  and  the  reputation  are  more  fully  developed 


30    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

than  at  any  other.  The  habits  then  become  fixed,  the 
tone  of  the  mind  settled,  the  disposition  regulated.  But 
if  a  false  step  be  taken,  and  a  false  system  be  adopted, 
it  will  be  difficult,  nay,  almost  impossible,  to  recover  it 
in  after  life. 

Only  a  short  time  since  a  young  man  paid  a  visit  to  a 
neighbouring  city,  as  well  for  relaxation  as  for  pleasure. 
Before  he  left  the  place  of  his  abode,  his  standing  was  in 
every  way  creditable.  He  had  grown  up  under  the  eyes 
of  watchful  parents,  had  received  a  good  education,  pos- 
sessed a  fine  mind,  and  was  addicted  to  no  vice.  It  so 
happened  that,  on  the  way,  he  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  a  dashing  man  of  the  world  as  he  described  himself, 
who,  in  fact,  was  nothing  more  than  a  polished  sharper 
and  gambler.  The  youth  was  led  on  from  step  to  step 
until  his  funds  were  exhausted,  and  he  was  compelled  to 
write  home  to  his  parents  for  a  sufficient  sum  to  pay  his 
hotel  bill  and  passage  back.  Meantime  he  had  been 
seen  in  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city  partially  intoxicated. 
Fortunately  he  was  recalled  to  a  sense  of  propriety  in 
time,  but  not  before  his  character  had  received  a  shock, 
from  the  effects  of  which  it  took  months  of  good  conduct 
to  recover.  Naturally  kind  of  heart  and  correct  of  de- 
portment, he  intended  nothing  of  the  kind,  but  was  led 
on  gradually  by  an  evil  associate !  How  many  are  ruined 
in  a  similar  manner  ?  How  many  forget  the  little  pro- 
prieties of  life,  commit  some  excess,  and  then  discover, 
to  their  mortification  and  shame,  that  they  have  disgraced 
themselves  !  The  young  cannot  be  too  watchful.  They 
cannot  guard  too  vigilantly  against  bad  habits  and  evil 
associations.  They  cannot  be  too  careful  to  protect  them- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  31 

selves  from  the  vice  of  falsehood.  Character,  to  many 
of  them,  is  all  they  possess ;  it  is  the  only  inheritance 
that  has  been  left  to  them  by  their  parents,  and  it  should 
be  cherished  accordingly.  No  young  man,  who  has  a 
just  sense  of  his  own  value,  will  trifle  with  his  reputation. 
It  should  be  as  precious  to  him  as  the  breath  of  his  nos- 
trils ;  but,  like  the  down  of  the  peach,  or  the  fragrance 
of  the  rose,  when  once  gone  it  can  never  be  replaced. 
According  to  the  poet,  "  All's  well  that  ends  well ; "  but 
there  is  seldom  a  good  end  that  has  not  a  good  beginning. 


INDUSTRY  AND  INTEGRITY. 

THERE  is  nothing  possible  to  man  which  industry  and 
integrity  will  not  accomplish.  The  poor  boy  of  yester- 
day— so  poor  that  a  shilling  was  a  miracle  in  his  vision  ; 
houseless  and  breadless ;  compelled  to  wander  on  foot 
from  village  to  village,  with  his  bundle  on  his  back,  in 
order  to  procure  labour  and  the  means  of  subsistence — 
has  become  the  talented  young  man  to-day,  by  the  power 
of  his  good  right  arm,  and  the  potent  influence  of  his 
pure  principles,  firmly  and  perpetually  maintained.  When 
poverty,  and  what  the  world  calls  disgrace,  stared  him  in 
the  face,  lie  shuddered  not,  but  pressed  onward,  and  ex- 
ulted in  high  and  honourable  exertions  in  the  midst  of 
accumulating  disasters  and  calamities.  Let  the  young 
man  be  cherished ;  for  he  honours  his  country,  and  dig- 
nifies his  race.  "Wealth! — what  cares  he  for  that,  as 


32    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

long  as  his  heart  is  pure,  and  his  walk  upright  ?  He 
knows,  and  his  country  knows,  and  his  country  tells,  that 
the  little  finger  of  an  honest  and  upright  young  man  is 
worth  more  than  the  whole  body  of  an  effeminate  and 
dishonest  rich  man.  These  are  the  men  who  make  the 
country — who  bring  to  it  whatever  of  iron  sinew  and  un- 
failing spirit  it  possesses  or  desires. 


STEADINESS   OF  PURPOSE. 

1.  IT  overcomes  difficulties — not  with  a  rush  and  a 
shout,  but  one  by  one.     They  melt  away  before  its  in- 
cessant pressure,  as  icebergs  before  the  steady  radiance 
of  the  sun. 

2.  It  gives  one  the  strength  of  a  happy  conscience. 
A  weathercock   of  a  man,  whiffing   about  with   every 
breeze,  cannot  have  true  quietness  of  mind.     Self-dis- 
satisfaction worries  and   annoys  him.     But   a  cheerful 
vigour  and  energy  grows  out  of  an  intelligent,  unviolat- 
ing  purpose. 

3.  It  gives  dignity  and  honour  to  character.     Men 
cannot  but  admire  the  mind  that  marches  steadily  on 
through  sunshine  and  shade,  calm  and  storm,  smiles  and 
frowns ;    glad   of  favour,   but   pressing   on   without   it ; 
thankful  for  aid,  but  fixed  on  advancing  at  all  events : 
such   men   establish   for  themselves  a  character  which 
cannot  but  be  seen  and  honoured. 

4.  It  gives  success.     In  any  enterprise  which  is  not 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  33 

downright  madness,  such  a  man  must  succeed.  He  has 
the  chief  element  of  triumph  over  every  difficulty,  and, 
if  he  is  not  an  idiot,  he  will  do  something  in  the  world. 
He  will  not  reach  his  ends  at  a  leap,  but  he  will  reach 
them.  Pie  moves  not  rapidly,  but  surely.  When  you 
want  to  find  him  by-and-by,  you  will  know  where  to 
look.  You  will  look  at  the  topmost  rounds  of  the  ladder 
of  success,  and  you  will  find  him  about  there  somewhere. 


A  WORD  TO  YOUNG  MEN. 

WISHING  and  sighing,  imagining  and  dreaming  of 
greatness,  will  not  make  you  great.  But  cannot  a  young 
man  command  his  energies  ?  Read  Foster  on  Decision 
of  Character.  That  book  will  tell  you  what  is  in  your 
power  to  accomplish.  You  must  gird  up  your  loins,  and 
go  to  work  with  all  the  indomitable  energy  of  Napoleon 
scaling  the  Alps.  It  is  your  duty  to  make  the  most  of 
your  time,  talents,  and  opportunities.  Alfred,  king  of 
England,  though  he  performed  more  business  than  any 
of  his  subjects,  always  found  time  to  study.  Franklin, 
in  the  midst  of  his  labours,  had  time  to  dive  into  the 
depths  of  philosophy,  and  explore  an  untrodden  path  of 
science.  Frederick  the  Great,  'with  an  empire  at  his 
direction,  in  the  midst  of  war,  and  on  the  eve  of  battle, 
found  time  to  revel  in  the  charms  of  philosophy,  and 
feast  on  the  luxuries  of  science.  Napoleon,  with  Europe 
at  his  disposal,  with  kings  in  his  antechamber,  and  at  the 


34    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

head  of  thousands  of  men,  whose  destinies  were  sus- 
pended on  his  arbitrary  pleasure,  found  time  to  converse 
with  books.  And  young  men  who  are  confined  to  labour 
or  business,  even  twelve  hours  a  day,  may  take  an  hour 
and  a  half  of  what  is  left  for  study,  and  which  will 
amount  to  two  months  in  the  course  of  a  year. 


HABITS   OF  A  MAN  OF  BUSINESS. 

A  SACRED  regard  to  the  principles  of  justice  forms 
the  basis  of  every  transaction,  and  regulates  the  conduct 
of  the  upright  man  of  business. 

He  is  strict  in  keeping  his  engagements. 

Does  nothing  carelessly,  or  in  a  hurry. 

Employs  nobody  to  do  what  he  can  easily  do  himself. 

Keeps  every  thing  in  its  proper  place. 

Leaves  nothing  undone  that  ought  to  be  done,  and 
which  circumstances  permit  him  to  do. 

Keeps  his  designs  and  business  from  the  view  of  others. 

Is  prompt  and  decisive  with  his  customers,  and  does 
not  overtrade  his  capital. 

Prefers  short  credits  to  long  ones  ;  and  cash  to  credit 
at  all  times,  either  in  buying  or  selling  ;  and  small  profits 
in  credit  cases  with  little  risk,  to  the  chance  of  better 
gains  with  more  hazard. 

He  is  clear  and  explicit  in  all  his  bargains. 

Leaves  nothing  of  consequence  to  memory  which  he 
can  and  ought  to  commit  to  writing. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  35 

Keeps  copies  of  all  his  important  letters  which  he 
sends  away,  and  has  every  letter,  invoice,  &c.,  belonging 
to  his  business,  titled,  clasped,  and  put  away. 

Never  suffers  his  desk  to  be  confused  by  many  papers 
lying  upon  it. 

Is  always  at  the  head  of  his  business,  well  kno\ying 
that,  if  he  leaves  it,  it  will  leave  him. 

Holds  as  a  maxim  that  he  whose  credit  is  suspected  is 
not  one  to  be  trusted. 

Is  constantly  examining  his  books,  and  sees  through 
all  his  affairs  as  far  as  care  and  attention  will  enable 
him. 

Balances  regularly  at  stated  times,  and  then  makes 
out  and  transmits  all  his  accounts-current  to  his  cus- 
tomers, both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Avoids  as  much  as  possible  all  sorts  of  accommodation 
in  money  matters  and  lawsuits  where  there  is  the  least 
hazard. 

He  is  economical  in  his  expenditure,  always  living 
within  his  income. 

Keeps  a  memorandum-book  in  his  pocket,  in  which  he 
notes  every  particular  relative  to  appointments,  addresses, 
and  petty  cash  matters. 

Is  cautious  how  he  becomes  security  for  any  person ; 
and  is  generous  when  urged  by  motives  of  humanity. 

Let  a  man  act  strictly  to  these  habits;  when  once 
begun,  they  will  be  easy  to  continue  in,  and  success  will 
attend  his  efforts. 

Take  pleasure  in  your  business,  and  it  will  become 
your  recreation. 

Hope  for  the  best,  think  for  the  worst,  and  bear  what- 
ever happens. 


36    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRIFLES. 

LOOK  around  the  circle  of  your  acquaintance,  and  do 
you  observe  that  those  who  bear  the  character  of  care- 
lessness have  neither  acquired  wealth  by  their  exertions, 
fame  by  their  industry,  or  a  reputation  by  their  judg- 
ment. Is  not  every  man  of  sound  sense  the  very  reverse 
of  a  trifler  ?  is  not  he  who  excels  in  any  kind  of  labour 
attentive  to  the  minutest  matter  connected  with  that 
labour?  and  is  not  every  architect  of  his  own  fortune 
found  to  be  a  careful  man  ?  We  scarcely  need  to  ob- 
serve, that  a  disregard  of  trifles  clearly  betrays  a  want  of 
frugality.  Many  a  fortune  has  been  lost,  and  many  per- 
sons have  been  prevented  from  making  a  fortune,  by  a 
disregard  of  trifles.  That  "  pence  make  pounds,"  and 
that,  "  if  we  take  care  of  our  pence  our  pounds  will  take 
care  of  themselves,"  are  true  sayings.  There  are  some 
who  have  desired  to  save  a  portion  annually  from  their 
incomes,  but  have  delayed  doing  so  from  one  year  to 
another,  in  the  expectation  of  being  able  at  a  future 
period  to  commence  their  savings  with  a  larger  sum.  At 
last  old  age  presents  himself,  and  they  discover  them- 
selves to  be  destitute  of  means  for  the  hour  of  adversity, 
and  that  the  annual  payments  of  their  formerly  despised 
sum  would  now  amount  to  a  considerable  fortune.  There 
are  many  such  in  the  world.  Now,  no  man  will  ever 
amass  wealth  who  disregards  the  smallest  item.  If  we 
had  sufficient  courage,  we  would  dare  to  address  a  few 
remarks  upon  this  point  to  those  young  ladies  who  wear 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  37 

their  shoes  in  wet  or  cold  weather,  and  bring  on  colds 
and  consumption ;  who  spoil  a  new  dress  once  a  month, 
and  sacrifice  twice  the  necessary  materials  in  their 
needlework,  crotchet,  &c.,  and  call  all  this  with  a  toss  of 
the  head  "  mere  trifles." 

We  would  press  the  foregoing  remarks  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  young  persons  especially.  Youth  is  the  period 
when  the  seed  of  our  after-life  is  sown.  It  then  becomes 
important  that  no  tares  should  be  mixed  with  the  wheat 
— that  no  habits  should  be  imbibed  which  will  inflict  us 
with  future  pain.  One  false  step  amid  the  precipices  of 
life  may  destroy  us ;  one  good  resolution,  fervently  em- 
braced and  rigidly  adhered  to,  may  rescue  us  from  many 
difficulties. 

A  friend  called  on  Michael  Angelo,  who  was  finishing 
a  statue ;  some  time  afterwards  he  called  again ;  the 
sculptor  was  still  at  his  work ;  his  friend,  looking  at  the 
figure,  exclaimed,  "  You  have  been  idle  since  I  last  saw 
you."  "  By  no  means,"  replied  the  sculptor,  "  I  have 
retouched  this  part,  polished  that ;  I  have  softened  this 
feature,  and  brought  out  this  muscle  ;  I  have  given  more 
expression  to  this  lip,  and  more  energy  to  this  limb." 
"Well,  well,"  observed  his  friend,  "but  all  these  are 
trifles."  "  It  may  be  so,"  replied  Angelo ;  "  but  recol- 
lect that  trifles  make  perfection,  and  that  perfection  itself 
is  no  trifle" 


38     READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


HOW  TO  PROSPER  IN  BUSINESS. 

IN  the  first  place,  make  up  your  mind  to  accomplish 
whatever  you  undertake;  decide  upon  some  particular 
employment;  persevere  in  it.  All  difficulties  are  over- 
come by  diligence  and  assiduity. 

Be  not  afraid  to  work  with  your  own  hands,  and  dili- 
gently too.  "  A  cat  in  gloves  catches  no  mice." 

"  He  who  remains  in  the  mill  grinds,  not  he  who  goes 
and  comes." 

Attend  to  your  business,  and  never  trust  it  to  another. 
"A  pot  that  belongs  to  many  is  ill  stirred  and  worse 
boiled." 

Be  frugal.  "That  which  will  not  make  a  pot  will 
make  a  pot  lid." 

"  Save  the  pence,  and  the  pounds  will  take  care  of 
themselves." 

Be  abstemious.  "  Who  dainties  love,  shall  beggars 
prove." 

Rise  Early.  "  The  sleeping  fox  catches  no  poultry." 
"  Plough  deep  while  sluggards  sleep,  and  you  will  have 
corn  to  sell  and  keep." 

Treat  every  one  with  respect  and  civility.  "Every 
thing  is  gained,  and  nothing  lost,  by  courtesy."  "  Good 
manners  insure  success." 

Never  anticipate  wealth  from  any  other  course  than 
labour ;  especially  never  place  dependence  upon  becom- 
ing the  possessor  of  an  inheritance.  "He  who  runs 
after  a  shadow  has  a  wearisome  race." 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS. 


Above  all  things,  never  despair.  "  God  is  where  he 
was."  "  Heaven  helps  those  who  help  themselves." 

Follow  implicitly  these  precepts,  and  nothing  can 
hinder  you  from  prospering. 


THE  WAY  TO   GET   ON  IN  THE  WORLD. 

To  get  on  in  this  world,  you  must  be  content  to  be 
always  stopping  where  you  are  ;  to  advance,  you  must 
be  stationary;  to  get  up,  you  must  keep  down;  following 
riches  is  like  following  wild-geese,  and  you  must  crawl 
after  both  on  your  belly ;  the  minute  you  pop  up  your 
head,  off  they  go  whistling  before  the  wind,  and  you  see 
no  more  of  them.  If  you  haven't  the  art  of  sticking  by 
nature,  you  must  acquire  it  by  art ;  put  a  couple  of 
pounds  of  birdlime  upon  your  office  stool,  and  sit  down 
on  it ;  get  a  chain  round  your  leg,  and  tie  yourself  to 
your  counter  like  a  pair  of  shop  scissors ;  nail  yourself 
up  against  the  wall  of  your  place  of  business,  like  a 
weasle  on  a  barn-door,  or  the  sign  of  the  spread  eagle  ; 
or,  what  will  do  best  of  all,  marry  an  honest,  poor  girl, 
without  a  penny,  and  my  life  for  yours  if  you  don't  do 
business. 

Never  _mind  what  your  relations  say  about  genius, 
talent,  learning,  pushing,  enterprise,  and  such  stuff; 
when  they  come  advising  you  for  your  good,  stick  up  to 
them  for  the  loan  of  a  sovereign,  and  if  ever  you  see 
them  on  your  side  of  the  street  again,  skiver  me  and 


40          READINGS    FOR    YOUNG   MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

welcome  ;  but,  to  do  any  good,  I  tell  you  over  and  over 
again,  you  must  be  a  sticker.  You  may  get  fat  upon 
a  rock  if  you  never  quit  your  hold  of  it. 


DUTY  OF  TRUSTING  TO  OURSELVES. 

THERE  is  a  duty  of  an  important  nature  winch  we 
have  to  perform  towards  society ;  and  that  is,  we  must 
trust  to  ourselves.  We  have  each  been  endowed  with 
reason  to  guide  us,  and  hands  to  work ;  why,  then,  unless 
prostrated  with  bodily  disease,  or  some  other  infirmity, 
should  we  think  of  leaning  upon  others  for  support  or 
assistance  ?  It  would  not  be  desirable  to  see  men  shut 
up  their  hearts  against  each  other,  and  each  stand  in  the 
panoply  of  his  own  resolutions,  determined  against  every 
friendly  appeal  whatsoever.  It  is  possible,  however,  to 
be  not  altogether  a  churl,  and  yet  to  take  care  lest  we 
be  tempted  into  an  exertion  of  benevolence  dangerous  to 
ourselves,  while  it  is  of  little  advantage  to  our  friends. 
Notwithstanding  the  many  ties  which  connect  a  man 
with  society,  he  nevertheless  bears  largely  imprinted  on 
his  forehead  the  original  doom,  that  he  must  chiefly  be 
dependent  on  his  own  labour  for  subsistence.  It  is  found 
by  all  men  of  experience  that,  in  so  far  as  one  trusts  to 
his  own  exertions  solely,  he  will  be  apt  to  flourish  ;  and, 
in  so  far  as  he  leans  and  depends  upon  others,  he  will 
be  the  reverse.  But  there  are  many  who  do  not  recog- 
nize this  principle.  They  trust  only  partially  to  them- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  41 

selves,  and  are  always  poking  about  after  large  favours 
from  friends.  We  find  them  asking  loans  of  money, 
asking  others  to  be  surety  for  them,  asking  acquain- 
tances to  interfere  to  get  places  for  them.  If  they  ask 
for  nothing  else,  they  intrude  upon  their  friends  to  seek 
advice.  Neither  physically  nor  morally  do  they  seem 
able  to  exert  themselves  for  their  own  behoof.  This  is 
so  contemptible  a  mode  of  living,  that  it  cannot  be  too 
severely  reprehended.  Those  who  depend  on  others 
can  never  succeed  in  life.  In  whatever  manner  they 
may  be  assisted,  they  can  never  become  front-rank  men 
in  society.  We  would  earnestly  impress  upon  the  young 
the  propriety  of  depending  as  little  as  possible  upon 
prospects  of  advantages  from  others,  all  of  Avhom  have 
enough  to  do  with  themselves.  It  is  obviously  the  duty 
of  every  one  to  think  and  act  for  himself  as  soon  as  he 
attains  manhood,  and  neither  be  burdensome  on  rela- 
tives nor  troublesome  to  acquaintances.  The  acceptance 
of  a  trifling  favour  from  an  acquaintance,  always  lays 
us  under  an  obligation,  which  is  sometimes  difficult  to 
remove.  If  the  acquaintance  ever  need  similar  favours, 
we  feel  bound  to  grant  them  ;  and  perhaps  he  estimates 
the  original  favour  so  highly  that  he  thinks  we  cannot 
do  enough  to  serve  him.  In  this  way  hundreds  of  men 
are  ruined.  We  would  say,  as  a  general  maxim,  accept 
no  favours  unless  upon  a  principle  of  common  courtesy. 
If  you  employ  others  to  execute  a  piece  of  work,  take 
care  to  pay  them  faithfully  and  promptly,  and  lie  under 
no  obligation  to  them,  otherwise  you  may  be  called  upon, 
when  you  least  expect  it,  to  make  payment  a  hundred- 
fold. Be  liberal,  affable,  and  kind ;  but,  knowing  that 


42    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

you  cannot  do  more  injury  to  society  than  by  greatly 
injuring  yourself,  exercise  a  just  caution  in  giving  way 
to  the  solicitations  of  your  friends.  Never  be  too  ready 
to  convince  yourself  that  it  is  right  to  involve  yourself 
largely,  in  order  to  help  any  person  into  a  particular 
station  in  society ;  rather  let  him  begin  at  the  bottom, 
and  he  will  be  all  the  better  fitted  for  his  place  when 
he  reaches  it,  by  having  fought  his  way  up  through 
the  lower  stages. 


SINCERITY  AND  INSINCERITY. 

THESE  are  other  names  for  truth  and  falsehood. 
They  are  not  commonly  applied  to  the  most  serious 
concerns  of  human  life,  but  to  what  are  called  the  "  im- 
perfect obligations."  Such  obligations,  it  is  well  known, 
are  not  enforced  by  the  law  of  the  land,  but  are  binding 
as  duties  arising  as  well  from  natural  law  (reasonably 
expounded)  as  from  Divine  law.  Sincerity  is  a  duty  to 
one's  self,  because  it  is  demanded  by  self-respect.  As 
every  one  has  an  individual  separate  physical  being,  so 
every  one  has  a  separate  circle  within  which  he  exists, 
and  into  which  no  one  has  a  right  to  intrude.  His 
thoughts,  motives,  opinions,  and  policy  are  his  own. 
What  he  will  or  will  not  do  (so  that  no  wrong  be  done 
to  others,  and  no  act  of  duty  be  withheld  from  them)  is 
for  him  to  decide  upon.  "Within  this  circle  he  makes  up 
his  judgments  on  all  persons  and  things.  In  his  outward 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  43 

deportment  he  must  frequently  act  in  a  manner  not  con- 
sistent with  these  judgments.  As  an  example  :  one  has 
made  up,  from  repeated  observations  of  a  certain  indi- 
vidual, a  very  clear,  but  very  unfavourable  judgment  of 
his  qualities  ;  but  there  is  no  occasion  to  disclose  what 
the  judgment  is.  The  observer  is  obliged,  or  finds  it 
convenient,  to  meet  this  individual,  and  to  deal  with  him, 
and  perhaps  to  interchange  courtesies  with  him.  It  is 
undoubtedly  proper  to  manifest  the  respect,  in  such  a 
case,  which  the  decencies  of  life  require,  and  to  show 
the  common  proofs  of  good-will.  There  is  no  insincerity 
in  this.  Though  no  one  can  possibly  avoid  forming  judg- 
ments of  6thers,  nor  avoid  liking  or  disliking  them,  even 
including  very  near  friends  and  relatives,  yet  there  may 
be  a  positive  violation  of  duty  in  publishing  these  judg- 
ments or  in  disclosing  these  feelings.  The  divine  law, 
"  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged,"  does  not,  it  is  be- 
lieved, interdict  these  judgments,  because  they  cannot 
but  be  made  ;  but  it  forbids  the  wanton,  unnecessary, 
and  injurious  publication  or  manifestation  of  them. 
Those  who  are  keen  observers  of  their  fellow-men,  see 
in  their  faces,  in  their  manners,  in  their  modes  of  speak- 
ing, in  their  tones  of  voice,  in  the  sentiments  which  they 
express,  &c.,  causes  for  respect,  esteem,  confidence,  and 
approbation  ;  or  they  may  see  causes  for  disrespect,  sus- 
picion, strong  disapprobation,  and  disgust.  But  all  these 
things  belong  to  the  individual  circle.  It  is  not  insin- 
cere to  keep  them  there.  On  the  contrary,  society  would 
be  intolerable  if  they  were  not  kept  there ;  it  is  very 
hazardous  to  the  observer  to  let  them  out  unnecessarily. 
He  may  be  mistaken  both  as  to  the  favourable  and 


44    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

unfavourable  judgments  which  he  forms.  Further  obser- 
vation, new  circumstances,  unexpected  changes,  may  es- 
sentially correct  his  judgment,  and  therefore  a  prudent 
man  will  keep  them  to  himself :  they  are  his  own  pecu- 
liar property,  and  were  obtained  for  his  own  use.  The 
worst  form  of  insincerity  is  undoubtedly  that  which  leads 
one  to  pretend  to  feel  a  warm  friendly  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  a  person  who  is  an  object  of  indifference  to 
him.  This  is  a  charge  which  has  been  frequently 
brought  against  the  dispensers  of  patronage.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  public  men,  from  their  peculiar 
situation,  are  liable  to  be  greatly  annoyed  by  appli- 
cations for  the  exercise  of  their  influence  in  behalf  of 
individuals  in  whom  they  take  little  or  no  interest ;  and 
in  replying  to  these  applications  great  caution  and  deli- 
cacy require  to  be  employed,  lest,  on  the  one  hand,  they 
give  offence  by  their  bluntness  and  sincerity ;  or,  on  the 
other,  excite  expectations  which  they  have  neither  the 
ability  nor  the  intention  to  fulfil.  The  petitioners  may 
be  over-sanguine,  and  may  from  the  courtesy  of  the  re- 
ception they  meet  with,  be  led  to  entertain  unreasonable 
hopes  which  are  destined  to  be  disappointed  ;  and  there- 
fore it  is  incumbent  upon  those  to  whom  the  applications 
are  addressed,  while  they  say  nothing  that  can  offend  the 
delicacy,  or  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  applicants,  to  express 
themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  excite  any  hopes 
which  they  are  not  only  able  but  willing  to  realize.  The 
same  rule  ought  to  be  observed  by  individuals  in  every 
station  of  life  ;  and  then  fewer  disappointments  would 
take  place,  and  more  confidence  would  be  entertained, 
between  man  and  man,  in  the  unavoidable  intercourse 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  45 

of  society.  Insincerity  is  often  demonstrated  by  paying 
false  and  silly  compliments,  which  assume  the  form  of 
flattery — a  word  which  is  derived  from  the  Latin,  and 
signifies  wind,  breath,  puff.  This  is  a  kind  of  ailment 
which  perverted  self-love  finds  to  be  exceedingly  pleas- 
ant Although  it  is  in  truth  precisely  what  its  origin 
indicates,  there  is  hardly  a  man,  woman,  or  child  who  is 
not  disposed  to  partake  of  it,  if  it  be  artfully  disguised. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  all  sensible  persons,  of  whatever 
age  or  sex,  who  see  what  it  is,  and  why  offered,  feel  for 
the  flatterer  the  contempt  which  he  deserves.  This  insin- 
cerity is,  and  ought  to  be,  deemed  a  high  offence.  It 
implies  art  and  deceit  in  the  flatterer,  and  sufficient 
weakness  in  the  flattered,  to  be  subdued  to  the  purpose  in 
view.  The  flatterer's  purpose  may  be  to  secure  to  him- 
self no  more  than  a  better  esteem  than  he  can  have  any 
pretence  to,  and  it  may  be,  through  that,  to  secure  to 
himself  something  which  may  be  very  costly  to  his 
victim.  All  extravagant  commendation  of  any  person, 
however  estimable  may  be  his  qualities,  and  however 
highly  they  may  be  appreciated  by  the  bestower  of  the 
praise,  ought  to  be  avoided.  The  praised  may  be  per- 
fectly sincere,  but  still  it  is  a  violation  of  good  manners, 
and  is  a  direct  insult  to  the  understanding  of  the  person 
to  whom  it  is  administered.  Sincerity  requires  no  such 
breach  of  the  other  moralities ;  and,  whenever  it  is  ex- 
ercised in  .such  a  manner,  it  degenerates  into  rudeness. 


46    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


THE    MAN   OF    BUSINESS  AND    THE    BUSINESS 
MAN. 

THE  distinction  made  between  the  man  of  business  and 
the  business  man,  by  the  Merchant,  a  Philadelphia  news- 
paper, is  a  good  one — a  distinction  with  a  difference  too 
palpable  to  be  gainsaid  or  denied : — 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  confound  these  two  characters, 
as  is  frequently  done,  by  the  thoughtless  and  unreflecting. 
The  difference  between  them,  is  the  difference  between 
the  man  who  ascends  the  ladder  of  fortune  with  a  quick, 
lithe,  and  easy  step,  and  he  who  is  always  attempting  to 
climb,  and  never  gets  beyond  the  first  round  or  two  of 
the  ascent.  And  how  many  of  this  latter  class  do  we 
see ! — the  men  of  business,  who  are  always  standing  at 
the  bottom  looking  upward,  yet  never  put  their  hands 
and  feet  to  the  work.  They  don't  exercise  the  business 
talent  and  energies  which  they  possess,  but  fold  their 
hands  and  stand  spell-bound;  while  the  man  of  quick, 
lively,  and  venturesome  parts,  takes  hold  and  mounts  up, 
securing  a  firm  grasp  upon  each  round  of  the  ladder  as 
he  fearlessly  and  rapidly  advances  in  the  upward  way  of 
fortune.  But  we  will  endeavour  to  give  a  more  definite 
explanation  of  the  difference  between  these  two  classes. 

The  man  of  business  and  the  business  man  both  have 
business  to  do ;  but  the  business  man  is  the  one  who  does 
it.  The  business  man  thinks,  moves,  acts,  and  makes 
himself  felt  in  the  world.  If  a  thought  comes  into  his 
head,  it  is  one  of  breadth  and  compass — it  don't  centre  on 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  47 

self  and  its  narrow  world.  It  readies  away  and  embraces 
others.  It  has  a  wide  range,  and  does  not  stop  till  it 
touches,  and  affects  for  good  the  interests  of  all.  Nor  are 
the  thoughts  of  such  men  immobile.  They  become  act- 
ing, living  realities  in  the  wide  and  busy  world.  The 
authors  of  them  make  of  these  business  thoughts  ac- 
tualities— give  them  "  local  habitation  and  a  name  ; " 
and  steamboats  are  built,  an  ocean  is  navigated,  and 
distant  climes  and  nations  brought  together;  an  electric 
telegraph  springs  into  being,  as  by  enchantment,  and 
lightning  becomes  garrulous  and  voluble,  and  thought 
out-travels  the  winged  winds  ;  and  in  a  twinkling  the 
bands  and  shackles  of  trade  are  loosened.  Such  are  the 
ivorkings  produced  by  the  business  man.  He  awakens 
the  drowsy  and  helpless  multitudes,  puts  life  and  thought, 
energy  and  action,  into  them,  and  makes  the  world  leap 
rejoicing  along  the  path  of  ages.  Where  its  step  before 
was  but  a  single  year,  now  it  strides  by  scores  and  fifties. 

"Men  of  thought,  men  of  action, 
Clear  the  way." 

And  they  do  clear  the  way — their  thoughts  become 
tangible,  moving,  demolishing  forces,  that  break  down 
and  crush  all  opposing  barriers,  opening  a  pathway  of 
progress,  into  which  the  more  sluggish  and  timid  portion 
of  humanity  may  securely  travel. 

But  the  man  of  business  is  emphatically  what  the  name 
indicates.^  His  business  is  always  on  his  hands.  He 
don't  do  it.  He  don't  know  how  to  go  to  work  in  the 
right  way.  His  thoughts  are  all  measured  and  slow. 
He  weighs  self-made  doubts  and  supposed  contingencies, 
and,  before  he  moves,  the  business  man  gets  up  and  runs 


48    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

away  from  him,  and  wins  the  race.  The  man  of  business 
won't  go  a-head,  he  only  eddies  round  and  round — he 
don't  "  progress,"  his  path  is  a  circle.  He  don't  find 
himself  at  night  many  miles  on  his  journey's  way,  but, 
like  the  hour-hand  of  a  clock,  just  where  he  started.  He 
is  not  clear  and  decided  in  what  he  does,  but  often  stands 
hesitating  and  puzzled.  He  ventures  and  falls  back; 
has  a  stout  heart  infancy,  but  none  in  fact.  Such  a  man 
may  get  a  living — he  may  even  help  others  to  live ;  but 
the  throbbing  heart  of  the  great  world  will  not  be  accele- 
rated by  his  presence  nor  his  work.  Thus  you  will  per- 
ceive that  a  man  of  business  is  not  necessarily  a  business 

man. 

"  Act — act  in  the  living  present, 
Man  within,  and  God  o'erhead." 


A  PHILADELPHIA  MERCHANT. 

JAMES  HOLFORD  has  risen  step  by  step  up  the  ladder 
of  fortune,  until  he  stands  securely  at  the  summit,  with 
fame,  wealth,  and  honours  surrounding  him.  Some 
twenty  years  ago  this  same  James  Holford  was  at  the 
very  foot  of  the  ladder,  pondering  how  he  should  rise. 
The  ladder  was  very  curious  to  contemplate,  and  still 
more  curious  was  it  to  hear  what  the  world  said  about  it. 

"  ft  is  all  luck,  sir,"  cried  one,  "  nothing  but  luck ; 
why,  sir,  I  have  managed  at  times  to  get  up  a  step  or 
two,  but  have  always  fallen  down  ere  long,  and  now  I 
have  given  up  striving,  for  luck  is  against  me." 


AND   MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  49 

"  No,  sir,"  cried  another,  "  it  is  not  so  much  luck  as 
scheming ;  the  selfish  schemer  gets  up  while  more  honest 
fblks  remain  at  the  foot." 

"  Patronage  does  it  all,"  said  a  third ;  "  you  must  have 
somebody  to  take  you  by  the  hand  and  help  you  up,  or 
you  have  no  chance." 

James  Holford  heard  all  these  varied  opinions  of  the 
•world,  but  still  persisted  in  looking  upward,  for  he  had 
faith  in  himself. 

"The  cry  of  luck's  all,  what  does  it  amount  to  in 
reality,"  thought  he,  "  but  that  some  people  are  sur- 
rounded by  better  circumstances  than  others  ?  They 
must  still,  however,  take  advantage  of  these  circum- 
stances permanently  to  succeed ;  and  I,  having  very  in- 
different circumstances  around  me,  have  the  more  need 
to  use  great  exertion  in  order  to  better  them  ;  and  when 
reverses  come  I  will  not  despair  as  some  do,  but  per- 
severe on  to  fortune.  I  want  no  friend  to  take  me  by 
the  hand,  and  do  that  for  me  which  every  healthy  man 
can  do  better  for  himself.  No !  I  will  rise  by  myself 
alone." 

The  resolution  was  earnestly  made,  and  faithfully 
carried  out.  From  the  humblest  office  in  a  store,  to  the 
post  of  the  highest  trust,  James  Holford  rose  in  a  few 
years.  He  placed  his  affections  on  one  alike  to  him  in 
sympathies  and  in  fortune,  and  wedded  happiness  with 
her.  He  became  a  trader  for  himself,  having  from  his 
income  laid  by  sufficient  to  start  with.  His  probity,  his 
courtesy,  and  his  application,  commended  him.  to-  all  his 
customers,  and  every  year  saw  him-  advancing  higher  in 
the  world's  estimation. 
4 


50    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Not  only  did  he  devote  his  energies  to  his  business, 
but  his  leisure  hours  were  given  to  the  cultivation  of  his 
mental  faculties  ;  so  that  his  neighbours  soon  began  to 
look  upon  him  as  an  authority  in  public  matters,  and 
again  and  again  confided  offices  of  trust  to  him,  in 
which  he  invariably  won  golden  opinions.  Independent 
in  spirit,  as  he  is  now  also  independent  in  fortune,  and 
still  in  the  vigour  of  life  and  health,  with  a  fine  troop  of 
children  around  him,  James  Holford  looks  with  hope  and 
serenity  to  the  future,  while  in  his  every  action  he  still 
offers  a  model  to  the  world. 

His  counsel  is  much  sought  by  the  young  and  aspiring, 
and  he  thus  discourses  to  them  concerning  the  ladder  of 
fortune :  "  The  steps  from  the  foot  to  the  summit  are 
not  many ;  but  each  has  a  name  which  must  be  distinctly 
known  by  all  who  would  seek  to  climb.  The  first  step 
is  faith,  and  without  this  none  can  safely  rise  ;  the  second, 
industry;  the  third,  perseverance;  the  fourth,  temper- 
ance ;  the  fifth,  probity ;  and  the  sixth,  independence. 
Having  obtained  thus  high  a  position  on  the  ladder,  the 
future  rise  is  easy ;  for  faith  will  have  taught  the  climber 
never  to  doubt  or  despair ;  industry  will  have  kept  him 
from  vice,  either  in  thought  or  deed ;  perseverance  will 
have  shown  him  how  easy  difficulties  are  surmounted 
when  calmly  met ;  temperance  will  have  preserved  both 
health  and  temper ;  probity  will  have  ensured  respect 
and  given  stability  to  the  character ;  and  independence  of 
spirit,  while  it  will  give  dignity  to  the  man,  will  certainly 
gain  the  admiration  of  the  world.  One  step  more  liiis  to 
be  acquired,  which  is  experience,  the  only  true  knowl- 
edge of  life,  and  then  the  summit  of  the  ladder  is  surely 
reached." 


AND   MEN    OP   BUSINESS.  51 

Young  men,  the  ladder  of  fortune  can  be  mounted  by 
all  of  you,  if  you  learn  the  moral  of  James  Holford's  life. 
.Say,  who  is  the  first  to  profit  by  it  ? 


THE  MAN  RETIRED   FROM  BUSINESS. 

ALMOST  every  merchant  has  been  rich,  or  at  least 
prosperous,  at  some  point  of  his  life ;  and,  if  he  is  poor 
now,  he  can  see  very  well  how  he  might  have  avoided 
the  disaster  which  overthrew  his  hopes.  He  will  prob- 
ably see  that  his  misfortunes  arose  from  neglecting  some 
of  the  following  rules  : — 

Be  industrious  ;  everybody  knows  that  industry  is  the 
fundamental  virtue  in  the  man  of  business.  But  it  is 
not  every  sort  of  industry  which  tends  to  wealth.  Many 
men  work  hard  to  do  a  great  deal  of  business,  and,  after 
all,  make  less  money  than  they  would  if  they  did  less. 
Industry  should  be  expended  in  seeing  to  all  the  details 
of  business,  in  the  careful  finishing-up  of  each  separate 
undertaking,  and  in  the  maintenance  of  such  a  system  as 
will  keep  every  thing  under  controul. 

Be  economical;  this  rule,  also,  is  familiar  to  every- 
body. Economy  is  a  virtue,  to  be  practised  every  hour  hi 
a  great  city.  It  is  to  be  practised  in  pence  as  much  as 
in  pounds.  A  shilling  a  day  saved  amounts  to  an  estate 
in  the  course  of  a  life.  Economy  is  especially  important 
in  the  outset  of  life,  until  the  foundations  of  an  estate 
are  laid.  Many  men  are  poor  all  their  days,  because, 


52     READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

when  their  necessary  expenses  were  small,  they  did  not 
seize  the  opportunity  to  save  a  small  capital,  which 
would  have  changed  their  fortunes,  for  the  whole  of 
their  lives. 

Stick  to  the  business  in  which  you  are  regularly  em- 
ployed. Let  speculators  make  their  thousands  in  a  year 
or  day ;  mind  your  own  regular  trade,  never  turning  from 
it  to  the  right  hand  or  the  left.  If  you  are  a  merchant, 
a  professional  man,  or  a  mechanic,  never  buy  lots  or 
stocks  unless  you  have  surplus  money  which  you  wish 
to  invest.  Your  own  business  you  understood  as  well  as 
other  men ;  but  other  people's  business  you  do  not  under- 
stand. Let  your  business  be  some  one  which  is  useful  to 
the  community.  All  such  occupations  possess  the  ele- 
ments of  profits  in  themselves,  while  mere  speculation 
has  no  such  element. 

Never  take  great  hazards.  Such  hazards  are  seldom 
well  balanced  by  the  prospects  of  profit ;  and,  if  they 
were,  the  habit  of  mind  which  is  induced  is  unfavour- 
able, and,  generally,  the  result  is  bad.  To  keep  what  you 
have  should  be  the  first  rule ;  to  get  what  you  can,  fairly, 
the  second. 

Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  get  rich.  Gradual  gains  are 
the  only  natural  gains  ;  and  they  who  are  in  haste  to  be 
rich,  break  over  sound  rules,  fall  into  temptations  and 
distress  of  various  sorts,  and  generally  fail  of  their  object. 
There  is  no  use  in  getting  rich  suddenly.  The  man  who 
keeps  his  business  under  his  control,  and  saves  some- 
tiling  from  year  to  year,  is  always  rich.  At  any  rate, 
he  possesses  the  highest  enjoyment  which  riches  are  able 
to  afford. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  53 

Never  do  business  for  the  sake  of  doing  it,  and  being 
counted  a  great  merchant.  There  is  often  more  money 
to  be  made  by  a  small  business  than  a  large  one ;  and 
that  business  will,  in  the  end,  be  most  respectable  which 
is  most  successful.  Do  not  get  deeply  in  debt ;  but  so 
manage  as  always,  if  possible,  to  have  your  financial 
position  easy,  so  that  you  can  turn  any  way  you  please. 

Do  not  love  money  extravagantly.  We  speak  here 
merely  with  reference  to  getting  rich.  In  morals,  the 
inordinate  love  of  money  is  one  of  the  most  degrading 
vices.  But  the  extravagant  desire  of  accumulation  in- 
duces an  eagerness,  many  times,  which  is  imprudent ; 
and  so  misses  its  object  from  too  much  haste  to  grasp  it. 


EARLY  RISING. 

For  shame ! — 

Get  up,  thou  slug-a-bed,  and  see 

The  dew-bespangled  herb  and  tree  ; 

Each  flower  has  wept  and  bowed  towards  the  east 

Above  an  hour  since ;  yet  you  are  not  drest — 

Nay,  not  so  much  as  out  of  bed — 

When  all  the  birds  have  matin  said, 

And  -sung  their  thankful  hymns  ;  'tis  sin — 

Nay,  profanation — to  keep  in. 


54          READINGS   FOR   YOTTNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 


KEEP  YOUR  PROMISE. 

IN  no  way,  perhaps,  can  a  young  man  destroy  his 
business  character  more  effectually  than  by  obtaining 
the  reputation  of  one  who  breaks  his  promises.  The 
mercantile  world,  in  placing  under  its  ban  the  individual 
who  suffers  his  note  to  be  protested,  is  less  unjust  than 
is  popularly  supposed.  Instances  of  hardship,  we  are 
willing  to  concede,  do  occasionally  arise  under  the  ope- 
ration of  this  rule ;  but  they  are  less  frequent  than  is 
generally  believed,  and  not  more  cruel  than  in  similar 
exceptional  cases.  Nine  men  out  of  ten  who  fail,  owe 
their  insolvency  either  to  having  traded  beyond  their 
means — to  a  careless  management  of  their  affairs — or  to 
criminal  speculations.  That  is,  they  have  undertaken 
more  than  they  could  perform,  and  this  while  knowing 
at  the  time  of  the  promise  that  there  was  great  doubt 
whether  they  could  meet  their  engagements.  Perhaps, 
indeed,  they  had  no  deliberate  intention  of  violating 
their  promise  ;  but  they  either  were  more  ignorant  than 
they  should  have  been  of  their  ability  to  perform,  or 
they  trusted  too  confidentially  to  the  chances  of  the 
future,  or  they  took  heavier  risks  subsequently  than  was 
consistent  with  their  liabilities.  The  innocent,  therefore, 
suffer  but  rarely  by  this  species  of  mercantile  proscrip- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  the  rule  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  commercial  world,  for  without  it  payments  could 
scarcely  ever  be  depended  on,  and  financial  distress  would 
frequently  be  alarmingly  increased.  Strict  business  in- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  55 

tegrity,  in  this  particular,  depends  much  on  the  general 
character.  A  person  who  pays  little  regard  to  slight 
promises,  usually  is  somewhat  careless  of  greater  ones 
also.  Defects  of  this  kind,  like  flaws  in  machinery,  never 
lessen,  but  always  grow  worse,  until  finally,  under  the 
strain  of  a  powerful  temptation,  they  often  break  down 
a  man's  career  for  ever.  The  most  punctual  men  in 
keeping  a  trivial  engagement,  we  have  always  found  to 
be  the  exactest  in  their  business  transactions.  Wash- 
ington was  a  memorable  example  of  particularity  in 
small  things  as  well  as  great,  and  his  strict  probity  in 
the  latter  was  unquestionably  the  result,  in  a  consider- 
able degree,  of  his  fidelity  in  the  former. 

In  our  experience  also,  the  men  who  never  kept  an 
engagement  to  the  moment — the  men  who  were  pro- 
verbially always  "  behind  time,"  have  been,  mostly,  those 
who  have  failed  subsequently  in  business.  We  have 
learned,  too,  to  be  cautious  of  those  who  are  over-ready 
to  promise.  It  is  the  individual  who  carefully  considers 
before  he  makes  a  pledge,  who  can  be  most  surely  de- 
pended on  to  keep  it.  A  multiplicity  of  promises  neces- 
sarily prevents  the  promisor  from  observing  them  all ; 
for  one  conflicts  with  the  other,  and  disables  even  the 
best  intentioned.  A  disregard  of  promises,  finally,  is 
like  a  fungus,  which  imperceptibly  spreads  over  the 
whole  character,  until  the  moral  perceptions  are  per- 
verted, and  the  man  actually  comes  to  believe  he  does 
no  wrong,  even  in  breaking  faith  with  his  warmest 
friends. 


56    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


SUCCESS  IN  LIFE   DEPENDS   ON  PERSEVER- 
ANCE. 

SUCCESS  in  life  mainly  depends  upon  perseverance. 
When  a  man  has  determined  to  follow  a  certain  line  of 
business,  he  must  at  the  same  time  resolve  to  persevere 
until  success  crowns  his  efforts.  He  must  never  be  cast 
down  by  the  difficulties  which  may  beset  his  path  ;  for 
whoever  conquers  difficulty,  conquers  a  weakness  of  his 
own  frail  nature  likewise.  How  many  men  have  com- 
menced business  under  the  most  favourable  auspices,  and 
yet,  when  a  cloud  has  momentarily  overshadowed  their 
path,  have  lost  all  command  over  themselves,  and  fled 
before  the  temporary  gloom,  instead  of  persevering  on 
until  the  cloud  has  been  dispersed,  and  sunshine  once 
more  smiled  upon  their  efforts!  Others,  more  fickle, 
have  thought  their  business,  in  some  minor  departments, 
unworthy  of  their  perseverance  and  energy  ;  and  forget- 
ting the  golden  maxim,  that  "  whatever  is  worth  doing  at 
all,  is  worth  doing  well,"  have  ceased  to  persevere  in 
small  matters,  until  sloth  has  entered  deeply  into  their 
minds,  and  their  whole  business  greatly  neglected. 

We  are  too  apt  to  attribute  success  in  business  to  good 
fortune,  instead  of  great  perseverance.  This  is  a  great 
evil,  and  should  be  eschewed,  as  it  leads  many  to  sup- 
pose that  Dame  Fortune  will  do  that  for  them  which 
they  are  unwilling  to  do  for  themselves. 

The  history  of  every  great  success  in  business  is  the 
history  of  great  perseverance.  By  perseverance  the 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  57 

mind  is  strengthened  and  invigorated,  and  the  difficulty 
that  once  seemed  so  formidable,  is  a  second  time  sur- 
mounted with  ease  and  confidence. 

Energy  and  great  perseverance  are  never  thrown 
away  in  a  good  cause,  or  left  unrewarded ;  and,  to  every 
man  of  business,  perseverance  should  be  his  motto,  and 
then  he  may  look  with  confidence  to  fortune  as  his 
reward. 


A  MODEL   WAREHOUSE. 

WE  find  the  following  interesting  account  of  the  mode 
of  conducting  business  arrangements  in  a  dry  goods  store 
in  Philadelphia,  in  the  columns  of  a  southern  journal. 
Precision  in  such  matters  begets  thrift  and  prosperity, 
and  we  hope  the  precepts  of  the  annexed  article  may  be 
universally  carried  out  in  business  communities. 

"  The  amount  of  sales  made  at  this  store  is  about  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  annually ;  each  department  in 
the  store  is  alphabetically  designated.  The  shelves  and 
rows  of  goods  in  each  department  are  numbered ;  and 
upon  the  tag  attached  to  the  goods  is  marked  the  letter 
of  the  department,  the  number  of  the  shelf,  and  row  on 
that  shelf  to  which  such  piece  of  goods  belongs.  The 
cashier  receives  a  certain  sum  extra  per  week,  and  he  is 
responsible  for  all  worthless  money  received.  Books  are 
kept,  in  which  the  sales  of  each  clerk  are  entered  for  the 
day,  and  the  salary  of  the  clerk  cast  as  a  percentage  on 
each  day,  week,  and  year,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  page  the 


58    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

aggregate  of  these  sales  appears,  and  the  percentage 
that  it  has  cost  to  effect  these  sales  is  easily  calculated 
for  each  day,  month,  or  year.  The  counters  are  desig- 
nated by  an  imaginary  colour,  as  the  blue,  green,  brown, 
&c.,  counter. 

The  yardsticks  and  counter  brush  belonging  to  it  are 
painted  to  correspond  with  the  imaginary  colour  of  the 
counter ;  so,  by  a  very  simple  arrangement,  each  of  these 
necessaries  is  kept  where  it  belongs,  and,  should  any  be 
missing,  the  faulty  clerks  are  easily  known. 

All  wrapping-paper  coming  into  the  store  is  imme- 
diately taken  to  a  counter  in  the  basement,  where  a  lad 
attends  with  a  pair  of  shears,  whose  duty  it  is  to  cut  the 
paper  into  pieces  to  correspond  with  the  size  of  the  par- 
cels sold  at  the  different  departments,  to  which  he  sees 
that  it  is  transferred.  All  pieces  too  small  for  this,  even 
to  the  smallest  scraps,  are  by  him  put  into  a  sack,  and 
what  is  usually  thrown  away  by  our  merchants,  yields  to 
this  systematic  man  some  twenty  dollars  per  year.  In 
one  part  of  the  establishment  is  a  tool-closet,  with  a 
work-bench  attached  ;  the  closet  occupies  but  little  space, 
yet  in  it  we  notice  almost  every  useful  tool,  and  this  is 
arranged  with  the  handsaw  to  form  the  centre,  and  the 
smaller  tools  radiating  from  it  in  sun  form  ;  behind  each 
article  is  painted,  with  black  paint,  the  shape  of  the  tool 
belonging  to  that  place.  It  is,  consequently,  impossible 
that  any  thing  should  be  out  of  place  except  through 
design ;  and,  if  any  tool  is  missing,  the  wall  will  show 
the  shadow  without  the  substance. 

Such  is  the  salutary  influence  exerted  by  order,  that 
those  who  enter  this  employ  habitually  careless  and  reck- 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  59 

less,  are  reformed  entirely;  and  system,  which  before 
•was  irksome,  has  become  to  them  a  second  nature.  The 
proprietor's  desk  stands  at  the  further  end  of  the  store, 
raised  on  a  platform  facing  the  front,  from  which  he  can 
see  all  the  operations  in  each  section  of  the  retail  depart- 
ment. From  this  desk  run  tubes,  connecting  with  each 
department  of  the  store,  from  the  garret  to  the  cellar ;  so 
that  if  a  person  in  any  department,  either  porter,  retail 
or  wholesale  clerk,  wishes  to  communicate  with  the  em- 
ployer, he  can  do  so  without  leaving  his  station.  Pages 
are  kept  in  each  department  to  take  the  bill  of  parcels, 
together  with  the  money  paid,  and  return  the  bill  re- 
ceipted, and  change,  if  any,  to  the  customer.  So  that 
the  salesman  is  never  obliged  to  leave  the  counter ;  he 
is  at  all  times  ready,  either  to  introduce  a  new  article,  or 
watch  that  no  goods  are  taken  from  his  counter  excepting 
those  accounted  for. 

"  His  peculiar  method  of  casting  the  percentage  of  a 
clerk's  salary  on  his  sales,  enables  him  at  all  times, 
coupling  it  with  the  clerk's  general  conduct  and  the  style 
of  goods  he  is  selling,  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the 
relative  value  of  the  services  of  each  in  proportion  to  his 
salary.  By  the  alphabetic  arrangement  of  departments, 
numbering  of  shelves,  and  form  of  the  tools,  any  clerk, 
no  matter  if  he  has  not  been  in  the  store  more  than  an 
hour,  can  arrange  every  article  in  its  proper  place  ;  and 
at  any  time,  if  inquired  of  respecting  them,  or  referred  to 
by  any  clerk,  the  proprietor  is  able  to  speak  understand- 
ingly  of  the  capabilities  and  business  qualities  of  any  of 
his  employees.  He  has  brought  up  some  of  the  best 
merchants  at  present  engaged  in  the  trade,  who  do  hon- 
our to  the  profession  as  well  as  their  tutor." 


60    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


ANECDOTE  FOR  YOUNG  MEN  ENTERING 
COMMERCIAL   LIFE. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  London  Youth's  Instructor 
relates  an  anecdote  which  we  transfer  to  this  book  for 
the  especial  benefit  of  young  men  entering  mercantile 
life. 

"I  once  knew  a  young  man,"  said  an  eminent  preacher 
the  other  day  in  a  sermon  to  young  men,  "  that  was  com- 
mencing life  as  a  clerk.  One  day  his  employer  said  to 
him, '  Now,  to-morrow  that  cargo  of  cotton  must  be  got 
out  and  weighed,  and  we  must  have  a  regular  account 
of  it.' 

"  He  was  a  young  man  of  energy.  This  was  the  first 
time  he  had  been  intrusted  to  superintend  the  execution 
of  this  work.  He  made  his  arrangements  over  night, 
spoke  to  the  men  about  their  carts  and  horses  ;  and, 
resolved  to  begin  very  early  in  the  morning,  he  in- 
structed the  labourers  to  be  there  at  half-past  four 
o'clock.  His  master  comes  in,  and,  seeing  him  sitting 
in  the  counting-house,  looks  very  black,  supposes  that 
his  commands  had  not  been  executed. 

"'I  thought,'  said  the  master,  'you  were  requested 
to  get  out  that  cargo  this  morning.' 

" '  It  is  all  done,  sir,'  said  the  young  man  ;  '  and  here 
is  the  account  of  it.' 

"  He  never  looked  behind  him  from  that  moment — 
never  !  His  character  was  fixed,  confidence  was  estab- 
lished. He  was  found  to  be  the  man  to  do  the  thing 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  61 

with  promptness.  He  very  soon  came  to  be  one  who 
could  not  be  spared  ;  he  was  as  necessary  to  the  firm 
as  any  of  the  partners.  He  was  a  religious  man,  and 
went  through  a  life  of  great  benevolence,  and  at  his 
death  was  able  to  leave  his  children  an  ample  fortune. 
He  was  not  smoke  to  the  eye,  nor  vinegar  to  the  teeth, 
but  the  contrary." 


IDLENESS. 

LEISURE  may  be  a  very  pleasant  garment  to  look  at, 
but  it  is  a  very  bad  one  to  wear.  The  ruin  of  millions 
may  be  traced  to  it.  Who  of  our  readers  who  is  out 
of  business  and  poor,  or  troubled  in  some  other  respect, 
will  not  agree  with  us?  How  many,  with  too  much 
leisure,  take  too  much  of  something  else,  thus  making 
gloom  deeper  and  misfortunes  more !  The  truth  is, 
that  the  condition  of  man  is,  at  the  best,  but  a  lament- 
able piece  of  patchwork,  and  the  less  we  ponder  upon 
it  the  better  are  we.  Drink  will  never  drive  the  heavy 
thought  off.  If  we  rely  on  drinking  solely,  the  sure 
return  of  mental  activity  brings  horror  back  increased. 
Business  of  some  kind  that  will  employ  us  constantly 
is  the  better  remedy.  You  that  are  sick  of  the  rascal- 
ities of  men,  depressed  by  reverses,  discouraged  by 
lack  of  sympathy,  though  you  go  to  employment  like 
a  child  to  an  emetic,  or  a  horse  to  a  second  quid  of 
tobacco,  persevere  in  labour,  and  you  will  soon  be  more 


62    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

cheerful,  life  will  be  less  of  a  trouble,  its  enjoyments 
keener,  and  thoughts  of  death  will  not  so  often  crowd 
upon  the  brain.  Shun  leisure,  that  treacherous  abyss 
whose  brink  is  crowned  with  flowers.  Shun  all  that 
may  tend  to  alienate  your  inclinations  from  that  indus- 
try which  is,  and  has  been,  the  doom  and  duty  of  all 
men  since  Cain.  Shun  all  that  tends  to  encrust  your 
energies  with  the  rust  of  sloth  ;  for  sorrow  and  sloth 
are  the  handmaids  of  despair.  Better  toil  for  little 
profit,  or  die,  than  to  drag  on  that  miserable  existence 
which  is  passed  in  the  demoralizing  hours  of  a  de- 
sponding leisure.  Look  to  it !  The  rich  indolent  finds 
that  the  wheels  of  life  run  heavily,  slowly  with  him  ; 
but  the  sluggard  who  is  poor,  has  nothing  to  console 
him.  The  rich  drone,  though  he  lives  to  no  purpose, 
keeps  wealth  between  him  and  the  wrongs  and  con- 
tempt of  the  world ;  but  he  who  is  poor  and  idle  too, 
may  well  account  himself  a  wretch.  He  hath  need 
of  the  intercession  of  all  good  angels  to  keep  him  from 
the  webs  of  vice,  the  tyranny  of  the  heartless,  and  a 
grave  of  frightful  associations. 


COMPETITION  IN  TRADE. 

COMPETITION  in  trade  is  considered  the  life  of  busi- 
ness. We  do  not  pretend  to  set  up  our  opinions  in 
opposition  to  the  established  and  acknowledged  proverbs 
of  our  fathers ;  but  we  do  differ  in  some  particulars  with 


AND   MEN   OF   BUSINESS.  63 

the  spirit  of  the  adage  quoted  above.  It  might  be  quali- 
fied and  amended.  Honourable  competition  is  a  means 
of  creating  trade,  and  develops  the  capacity  of  men. 
But  that  competition  that  seeks  every  means  in  its 
power  to  monopolize  trade  by  reducing  prices,  is  far 
from  the  life  of  business,  but  is,  in  fact,  its  very  death. 
Fair,  upright,  honourable  dealing,  will  always  be  sure  to 
meet  its  reward — although  the  returns  may  not  be  imme- 
diate, and  it  is  better  to  compete  fairly  and  openly,  than 
secretly  and  covertly.  We  live  in  excitement,  and  life 
is  a  constant  battle. 

We  are  of  those  who  hold  to  the  sentiment,  "  Live, 
and  let  live,"  and  we  consider  it  a  golden  rule.  It  is  at 
variance  with  that  motive  which  prompts  a  man  to  un- 
dersell his  neighbour,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  his 
customers,  and  deserves  to  be  practised  more  than  it  is. 
There  is  no  selfishness  in  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  a 
spirit  of  liberality  and  Christianity  worthy  of  our  atten- 
tion and  adoption.  If  business  men  were  to  study  their 
true  interest,  there  would  be  less  competition  among  us 
than  there  is  at  present,  and  there  would  be  fewer  com- 
plaints about  dull  times,  and  not  so  many  failures  as  now. 
The  spirit  of  competition,  when  carried  to  excess,  tends 
to  degrade  men,  and  make  them  heartless,  selfish,  and 
even  cruel ;  and,  if  not  checked,  leads  to  distrust,  enmity, 
and  uncharitableness.  A  disposition  to  fair  dealing  does 
much  to  destroy  it,  and  makes  our  situation  less  irksome 
than  if  we"  engage  in  it  with  full  determination  to  advance 
our  own  interests  to  the  injury  of  others.  There  is  a 
living,  and  more,  for  all  of  us,  without  endeavouring  to 
deprive  each  other  of  the  means  of  livelihood ;  and,  if 


64    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

we  throw  aside  that  spirit  of  selfishness  that  prompts  to 
excessive  competition,  we  will  benefit  ourselves  as  well 
as  others,  and  "  do  unto  others  as  we  would  they  should 
do  unto  us." 


THE   SECRET  OF   SUCCESS. 

THERE  are  some  men  who  appear  born  to  good  for- 
tune, and  others  whose  destiny  appears  to  subject  them 
to  eternal  failure  and  disaster.  The  ancients  represented 
Fortune  as  a  blind  goddess,  because  she  distributed  her 
gifts  without  discrimination ;  and  in  more  modern  times, 
the  belief  has  been  prevalent  that  the  fortunes  of  a  man 
were  ruled  chiefly  by  the  influences  of  a  planet  .under 
which  he  was  born.  These  superstitions,  however  ridicu- 
lous, show  at  least  that  the  connection  between  merit 
and  success  is  not  very  conspicuous,  yet  it  is  not  there- 
fore the  less  perpetual.  To  succeed  in  the  world  is  of 
itself  a  proof  of  merit ;  of  a  vulgar  kind  indeed,  it  may 
be,  but  a  useful  kind  notwithstanding.  We  grant,  indeed, 
that  those  qualities  of  mind  which  make  a  man  succeed 
in  life,  are  to  a  great  extent  subversive  of  genius. 
Nevertheless,  numerous  illustrious  examples  might  be 
given  of  men  of  the  highest  genius  being  as  worldly- 
wise  as  duller  mortals.  It  is  the  pretenders  to  genius, 
rather  than  the  possessors  of  it,  who  claim  the  large  ex- 
emption from  those  rules  of  prudence  which  regulate  the 
conduct  of  ordinary  mortals,  and  array  themselves  in  the 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  65 

deformities  of  genius,  in  the  idea  that  they  constitute  its 
beauties.  There  are  some  indiscretions,  we  believe,  to 
which  men  of  a  vigorous  fancy  and  keen  sensibility  are 
naturally  heir,  and  for  which  it  would  be  as  unjust  to 
condemn  them  with  rigour,  as  it  would  be  to  blame  one 
of  the  cold-blooded  sons  of  discretion  for  being  destitute 
of  poetic  fire.  Yet  every  deviation  from  prudence  is  a 
fault,  and  is  not  to  be  imitated,  though  it  may  sometimes 
be  excused. 

The  most  important  element  of  success  is  economy ; 
economy  of  money  and  economy  of  time.  By  economy 
we  do  not  mean  penuriousness,  but  merely  such  whole- 
some thrift  as  will  disincline  us  to  spend  our  time  or 
money  without  an  adequate  return  either  in  gain  or 
enjoyment.  An  economical  application  of  time  brings 
leisure  and  method,  and  enables  us  to  drive  our  business, 
instead  of  our  business  driving  us.  There  is  nothing 
attended  with  results  so  disastrous,  as  such  a  miscalcula- 
tion of  our  time  and  means  as  will  involve  us  in  per- 
petual hurry  and  difficulty.  The  brightest  talents  must 
be  ineffective  under  such  a  pressure,  and  a  life  of  expe- 
dients has  no  end  but  penury.  Our  recipe  for  succeeding 
in  the  world,  then,  is  this :  work  much  and  spend  little. 
If  this  advice  be  followed,  success  must  come,  unless, 
indeed,  some  unwise  adventure,  or  some  accident  against 
which  no  human  foresight  could  provide,  such  as  sick- 
ness, conflagration,  or  other  visitation  of  Providence, 
should  arrest  the  progress  onwards  ;  but  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  human  affairs,  success  will  ever  wait  upon 
economy,  which  is  the  condition  by  which  prosperity 
must  be  earned.  "Worldly  success,  however,  though 


66     READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

universally  coveted,  can  be  only  desirable  in  so  far  as  it 
contributes  to  happiness,  and  it  will  contribute  to  happi- 
ness very  little  unless  there  be  cultivated  a  lively  benev- 
olence towards  every  animated  being.  "  Happiness,"  it 
has  been  finely  observed,  "  is  in  the  proportion  of  the 
number  of  things  we  love,  and  the  number  of  things  that 
love  iis."  To  this  sentiment  we  most  cordially  subscribe, 
and  we  should  wish  to  see  it  written  on  the  tablet  of 
every  heart,  and  producing  its  fruits  of  charity.  The 
man,  whatever  be  his  fame,  or  fortune,  or  intelligence, 
who  can  treat  lightly  another's  woe — who  is  not  bound 
to  his  fellow-men  by  the  magic  tie  of  sympathy — de- 
serves, aye,  and  will  obtain,  the  contempt  of  human  kind. 
Upon  him  all  the  gifts  of  fortune  are  thrown  away. 
Happiness  he  has  none ;  his  life  is  a  dream,  a  mere 
lethargy,  without  a  throb  of  human  emotion,  and  he  will 
descend  to  the  grave  "  unwept,  unhonoured,  and  unsung." 
Such  a  fate  is  not  to  be  envied,  and  let  those  who  are 
intent  upon  success  remember,  that  success  is  nothing 
without  happiness. 


DIFFICULTY  AND  PERSEVERANCE. 

To  the  young  who  have  to  make  their  way  in  their 
studies  and  professions,  nothing  can  be  more  useful  than 
frequent  counsel  on  the  duty  and  necessity  of  regarding 
all  obstacles' on  the  road  as  things  to  be  grappled  with  a 
bold  determination  to  conquer  them  manfully.  One  may 


AND    MEN   OF   BUSINESS.  67 

not  succeed ;  but,  if  one  does,  it  is  sweet  to  look  back 
upon  the  heap  of  briers  and  hurdles  that  one  has  forced 
a  passage  by.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  greater  the  difficulty 
the  more  glory  there  is  in  surmounting  it.  So  skilful 
pilots  gain  their  reputation  from  storms  and  tempests. 
Burke  says,  "  Difficulty  is  a  severe  instructor,  set  over 
us  by  the  supreme  ordinance  of  a  parental  guardian  and 
legislator,  who  knows  us  better  than  we  know  ourselves, 
as  he  loves  us  better  too.  He  that  wrestles  with  us, 
strengthens  our  nerves  and  sharpens  our  skill :  our  an- 
tagonist is  our  helper.  This  amicable  contest  with  diffi- 
culty obliges  us  to  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  our 
object,  and  compels  us  to  consider  it  in  all  its  relations ; 
it  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  superficial."  Those  who  are 
too  apt  to  quake  and  quail  before  every  difficulty,  would 
do  well  to  learn  the  song  of  "  Try  Again." 


:  'Tis  a  lesson  you  should  heed, 

Try  again ; 
If  at  first  you  don't  succeed, 

Try  again; 

Then  your  courage  should  appear, 
For  if  you  will  persevere, 
You  will  conquer,  never  fear, 

Try  again. 

'  Once  or  twice,  though  you  should  fail, 

Try  again; 
If  you  would  at  last  prevail, 

Try  again; 

If  we  strive  'tis  no  disgrace 
Though  we  do  not  win  the  race ; 
What  should  we  do  in  that  case? 

Try  again. 


68    READINGS  FOR  TOUXG  HEX,  MERCHANTS, 

"  If  you  find  your  task  is  hard, 

Try  again ; 
Time  will  bring  you  your  reward, 

Try  again; 

All  that  other  folks  can  do, 
Why,  with  patience,  may  not  you  ? 
Only  keep  this  rule  in  view, 

Try  again." 


CHARACTER  BETTER  THAN  CREDIT. 

WE  often  hear  young  men  who  have  credit-means 
dolefully  contrasting  their  lot  with  that  of  rich  men's 
sons.  Yet,  the  longer  we  live,  the  more  we  are  con- 
vinced that  the  old  merchant  was  right  who  said  to  us 
when  we  began  to  live — "  Industry,  my  lad,  is  hetter 
than  ingots  of  gold,  and  character  more  valuable  than 
credit." 

We  could  furnish,  if  need  were,  from  our  own  expe- 
rience, a  score  of  illustrations  to  prove  the  truth  of  his 
remarks.  In  all  branches  of  business,  in  all  avocations, 
character,  in  the  long  run,  is  the  best  capital.  Says 
Poor  Richard — "  The  sound  of  your  hammer  at  five  in 
the  morning,  or  nine  at  night,  heard  by  a  creditor,  makes 
him  easy  for  six  months  longer  ;  but  if  he  sees  you  at  a 
gambling-table,  or  hears  your  voice  in  a  tavern  when 
you  should  be  at  work,  he  sends  for  his  money  the  next 
day."  What  is  true  of  the  young  mechanic,  is  true  also 
of  the  young  merchant  or  young  lawyer.  Old  and  saga- 
cious firms  will  not  long  continue  to  give  credit  for  thou- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  69 

sands  of  dollars  when  they  see  the  purchaser,  if  a  young 
man,  driving  fast  horses,  or  lounging  in  drinking  saloons. 
Clients  will  not  intrust  their  cases  to  advocates,  however 
brilliant,  who  frequent  the  card-table,  the  wine-party,  or 
the  race-course.  It  is  better,  in  beginning  life,  to  secure 
a  reputation  for  industry  and  probity,  than  to  own  houses 
and  lands,  if  with  them  you  have  no  character.  A  facility 
of  obtaining  credit  at  the  outset  is  often  an  injury  instead 
of  a  benefit.  It  makes  the  young  beginner  too  venture- 
some— fills  him  with  dreams  of  too  early  fortune — tempts 
him  too  much  to  neglect  hard  work,  forethought,  caution, 
and  economy.  Excessive  capital  is  as  frequently  a  snare 
to  a  young  man.  It  has  passed  almost  into  a  proverb  in 
consequence,  that  the  sons  of  rich  men  never  make  good 
business  men.  To  succeed  in  life,  we  must  learn  the 
value  of  money.  But  a  superfluity  of  means  at  the  out- 
set is  nearly  a  certain  method  of  rendering  us  insensible 
to  its  value.  No  man  ever  grew  rich  who  had  not 
learned  and  practised  the  adage — "  If  you  take  care  of 
the  pennies,  the  dollars  will  take  care  of  themselves." 
Knowledge  of  men,  self-discipline,  a  thorough  mastery  of 
our  pursuit,  and  other  qualifications,  which  all  persons  of 
experience  look  for,  are  necessary  to  give  the  world 
security  that  a  young  man  is  of  the  right  metal.  Capital 
may  be  lost,  but  character  never.  Credit  once  gone,  the 
man  without  character  fails.  But  he  who  has  earned  a 
reputation  _for  capacity,  integrity,  and  economy,  even  if 
he  loses  his  capital,  retains  his  credit,  and  rises  trium- 
phant over  bankruptcy  itself.  A  man  with  character  can 
never  be  ruined.  It  is  the  first  thing  a  young  man 
should  seek  to  secure,  and  it  may  be  had  by  every  one 


70    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

who  desires  it  in  earnest.     A  poor  boy,  with  character, 
is  more  fortunate  by  far  than  a  rich  man's  son  without  it. 


CHARACTER  AND   CAPITAL. 

IT  is  related  of  Girard,  that,  when  a  young  tradesman, 
having  bought  and  paid  for  a  bag  of  coffee,  proceeded 
to  wheel  it  home  himself,  the  shrewd  old  merchant  im- 
mediately offered  to  trust  his  new  customer  to  as  many 
more  bags  as  the  latter  might  desire.  The  trait  of 
character  revealed  by  the  young  man  in  being  his  own 
porter,  had  given  the  millionnaire  confidence  in  him 
at  once.  His  reputation  was  made  with  Girard.  He 
became  a  favoured  dealer  with  the  enterprising  mer- 
chant, throve  rapidly,  and  in  the  end  amassed  a  for- 
tune. 

No  mere  capital  will  do  so  much  for  young  men  as 
character.  Nor  will  always  capital  and  connection  com- 
bined. In  our  own  experience,  we  have  known  many 
beginners  who  have  utterly  failed,  though  backed  by 
ample  means,  and  assisted  by  the  influence  of  a  large 
circle  of  friends.  In  some  cases,  indeed,  considerable 
experience,  as  well  as  industry  and  perseverance,  have 
been  added  to  these  advantages,  yet  without  securing 
success.  We  have  known  such  persons,  after  a  failure 
in  their  first  pursuit,  to  try  a  second,  and  even  a  third, 
yet  with  no  better  result,  although  still  assisted  by  cap- 
ital, by  friends,  and  even  by  their  own  activity.  The 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  71 

secret  was  that  they  had  missed,  somehow,  making  a 
character  for  themselves. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  common  occurrence  to  see 
young  men  begin  without  a  penny,  yet  rapidly  rise  to 
fortune.  They  achieve  this  triumph  by  establishing,  at 
the  outset,  a  reputation  for  being  competent  business 
men.  Few  are  so  fortunate  as  to  do  this  by  a  single 
characteristic  act,  like  the  purchaser  who  won  Girard's 
good-will  by  wheeling  home  the  bag;  for,  generally, 
neither  veteran  merchants  are  as  shrewd  as  the  fan\ous 
millionnaire,  nor  young  dealers  as  energetic  as  his  cus- 
tomer. 

But  a  consistent  life  of  sagacity,  economy,  and  indus- 
try, invariably  establishes  the  right  kind  of  reputation  in 
the  end.  Confidence  grows  up  in  influential  quarters 
towards  the  young  beginner.  Old  merchants  shake  their 
heads  approvingly,  and  say,  "  He  is  of  the  right  stuff, 
and  will  get  along."  Credit  comes,  as  it  were,  unsought. 
Connection  follows.  The  reputation  of  the  new  aspi- 
rant widens  and  deepens  ;  his  transactions  begin  to  be 
quoted  as  authority ;  trade  flows  in  on  him  from  every 
quarter ;  and  in  a  few  years  he  retires  with  a  compe- 
tence, or  remains  to  become  a  millionnaire.  All  this  is 
the  result  of  establishing,  at  the  outset,  a  character  of 
the  right  sort. 

We  may  say  to  every  young  man  about  to  start  in 
life,  make  a  character  for  yourself  as  soon  as  possible. 
Let  it  also  be  a  distinctive  one.  It  is  better  to  have 
a  name  for  excelling  all  others  in  some  one  thing,  than 
to  enjoy  simply  a  notoriety  for  merely  general  merit. 
Are  you  a  mechanic? — outstrip  your  fellows  in  skill. 


72    READINGS  FOE  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Are  you  a  young  lawyer? — become  superior  in  a  par- 
ticular branch.  Are  you  a  clerk? — be  the  best  book- 
keeper your  employers  have.  Are  you  hi  a  ware- 
house ? — make  yourself  acquainted  with  the  various 
buyers.  In  short,  become  known  for  an  excellence 
peculiar  to  yourself;  acquire  a  specialty,  as  it  is  called, 
and  success  is  certain,  because  you  will  have,  as  it  were, 
a  monopoly,  and  can  dictate  your  own  terms. 

Money  may  be  lost,  without  fault  of  your  own,  by 
some  one  or  other  of  the  accidents  of  life.  Connec- 
tions may  be  broken  up  by  death,  by  failure,  by  change 
of  interests,  but  character  remains  through  all ;  it  be- 
longs to  the  individual,  and  is  above  the  chances  of 
fate.  Thousands  who  have  lost  all  else  have  recovered 
themselves  by  having  a  character  to  start  anew  with ; 
but  no  man,  without  a  business  character,  has  ever 
risen  from  the  ruin  caused  by  the  loss  of  capital  or 
the  destruction  of  connection. 


PUNCTUALITY  IN  ALL  THINGS. 

IT  is  astonishing  how  many  people  there  are  who 
neglect  punctuality.  Thousands  have  failed  in  life 
from  this  cause  alone.  It  is  not  only  a  serious  vice  in 
itself,  but  it  is  the  fruitful  parent  of  numerous  other 
vices  ;  so  that  he  who  becomes  the  victim  of  it,  gets 
involved  in  toils  from  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
escape.  It  makes  the  merchant  wasteful  of  time  j  it 


AND    MEN    OP    BUSINESS.  73 

saps  the  business  reputation  of  the  lawyer ;  and  it 
injures  the  prospects  of  mechanics  who  might  other- 
wise rise  to  fortune  ;  in  a  word,  there  is  not  a  profes- 
sion nor  a  station  in  life  which  is  not  liable  to  the  canker 
of  this  destructive  habit. 

It  is  a  fact  not  always  remembered,  that  Napoleon's 
great  victories  were  won  by  infusing  into  his  subordi- 
nates the  necessity  of  punctuality  to  the  minute.  It 
was  his  plan  to  manoeuvre  over  large  spaces  of  country, 
so  as  to  render  the  enemy  uncertain  where  he  was 
about  to  strike  a  blow,  and  then  suddenly  to  concen-  • 
trate  his  forces  and  fall  with  irresistible  force  on  some 
weak  point  of  the  extended  lines  of  the  foe.  The  exe- 
cution of  this  system  demanded  that  each  division  of 
the  army  should  arrive  at  the  specified  spot  punctually ; 
for,  if  any  part  failed  to  come  up,  the  battle  was  lost. 
It  was  by  imitating  this  plan  that  the  allies  finally 
succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  emperor.  The  whole 
Waterloo  campaign  turned  on  these  tactics.  At  Mount 
St.  Jean,  Blucher  was  punctual,  while  Grouchy  was 
not;  and  the  result  was  that  Napoleon  fell,  and  Wel- 
lington triumphed. 

In  mercantile  affairs,  punctuality  is  as  important  as 
in  military.  Many  are  the  instances  in  which  the 
neglect  to  renew  an  insurance  punctually  has  led  to  a 
serious  loss.  Hundreds  of  city  merchants  are  now 
suffering  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  punctuality 
among  their  customers  in  paying  up  accounts.  With 
sound  policy  do  the  banks  insist,  under  the  penalty  of 
a  protest,  on  the  punctual  payment  of  notes ;  for,  were 
they  to  do  otherwise,  commercial  transactions  would 


74    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

fall  into  inextricable  confusion.  Many  and  many  a 
time  has  the  failure  of  one  man  to  meet  his  obligations 
brought  on  the  ruin  of  a  score  of  others,  just  as  the 
toppling  down,  in  a  line  of  bricks,  of  the  master  brick, 
causes  the  fall  of  all  the  rest. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  one  class  of  men  less  punctual 
than  mechanics.  Do  you  want  an  upholsterer  ?  He 
rarely  comes  when  he  agrees  ;  so  with  carpenters,  paint- 
ers, and  nearly  all  others.  Tailors  and  shoemakers  often 
do  not  have  their  articles  home  in  time.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  thousands  remain  poor  all  their  lives, 
who,  if  they  were  more  faithful  in  their  word,  would 
secure  a  large  run  of  custom,  and  so  make  their  fortunes. 
What  would  become  of  the  Ledger  if  it  was  not  punc- 
tual in  going  to  press  ?  or  if  our  papermakers  were  not 
punctual  in  delivering  paper?  or  if  our  compositors  were 
not  punctual  in  coming  to  work  ?  Be  punctual,  if  you 
would  succeed. 


BE  CAREFUL   OF   SMALL   THINGS. 

IRVING,  in  his  Life  of  Washington,  dwells  on  the 
particularity  with  which  the  great  hero  attended  to  the 
minutest  affairs.  The  father  of  his  country,  as  his  cor- 
respondence and  account-books  show,  was  "  careful  of 
small  things,"  as  well  as  of  great,  not  disdaining  to  scru- 
tinize the  most  petty  expense  of  his  household  ;  and  this 
even  while  acting  as  the  first  magistrate  of  the  first  re- 
public of  the  world. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  75 

The  example  of  "Washington,  in  this  respect,  might 
teach  an  instructive  lesson  to  those  who  scorn  what  they 
call  "petty"  details.  There  are  thousands  of  such  in- 
dividuals in  every  community.  We  all  know  more  or 
less  of  them.  Nothing  is  worthy  of  attention,  in  their 
opinion,  unless  it  can  be  conducted  on  a  grand  scale. 
They  will  not  condescend  to  the  pennies,  it  is  only  the 
pounds  to  which  they  will  attend.  They  spurn  a  small 
business.  They  talk  superciliously  of  those  who  over- 
look the  little  leakages  that  waste  so  much  money  in 
every  concern.  To  hear  them,  one  might  think  they 
were  above  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  and  that  nothing 
was  worthy  of  their  time  except  discovering  a  California, 
or  conquering  a  kingdom. 

Yet  no  man  ever  made  a  fortune,  or  rose  to  greatness 
in  any  department,  without  "  being  careful  of  small 
things."  As  the  beach  is  composed  of  grains  of  sand, 
as  the  ocean  is  made  up  of  drops  of  water,  so  the  mil- 
lionnaire  is  the  aggregation  of  the  profits  of  single  ven- 
tures often  inconsiderable  in  amount.  Every  eminent 
merchant  has  been  noted  for  his  attention  to  details. 
Few  distinguished  lawyers  have  ever  practised  in  the 
courts,  who  have  not  been  remarkable  for  a  similar 
characteristic.  It  was  one  of  the  most  striking  pecu- 
liarities of  the  first  Napoleon's  mind.  The  most  petty 
details  of  his  household  expenses,  the  most  trivial  facts 
relating  to  his  troops,  were,  in  his  opinion,  as  worthy  of 
his  attention  as  the  tactic  of  a  battle,  the  plan  of  a  cam- 
paign, or  the  revision  of  a  code.  Demosthenes,  the 
world's  unrivalled  orator,  was  as  anxious  about  gestures, 
or  his  intonation,  as  about  the  texture  of  his  argument, 


76    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

or  its  garniture  of  words.  Before  such  great  examples, 
and  in  the  very  highest  walks  of  intellect,  how  con- 
•temptible  the  conduct  of  the  small  minds  who  despise 
small  things  ! 


NEVER  DO  TOO  MUCH  AT  A  TIME. 

SIR  EDWARD  BULWER  LYTTON,  in  a  lecture  in  Eng- 
land, gave  the  following  history  of  his  literary  habits  : — 
Many  persons  seeing  me  so  much  engaged  in  active  life, 
and  as  much  about  the  world  as  if  I  had  never  been  a 
student,  have  said  to  me,  "  "When  do  you  get  time  to 
write  all  your  books  ?  How  on  earth  do  you  contrive 
to  do  so  much  work  ? "  I  shall  surprise  you  by  the 
answer  I  made.  The  answer  is  this :  "  I  contrive  to 
do  so  much  by  never  doing  too  much  at  a  time.  A  man 
to  get  through  work  well  must  not  overwork  himself;  or, 
if  he  do  too  much  to-day,  the  reaction  of  fatigue  will 
come,  and  he  will  be  obliged  to  do  too  little  to-morrow. 
Now  since  I  began  really  and  earnestly  to  study,  which 
was  not  till  I  had  left  college,  and  was  actually  in  the 
world,  I  may  perhaps  say  that  I  have  gone  through  as 
large  a  course  of  general  reading  as  most  men  of  my 
time.  I  have  travelled  much,  and  I  have  seen  much  ;  I 
have  mixed  much  in  politics,  and  in  the  various  business 
of  life ;  and,  in  addition  to  all  this,  I  have  published 
somewhere  about  sixty  volumes,  some  upon  subjects  re- 
quiring much  special  research.  And  what  time  do  you 
think,  as  a  general  rule,  I  have  devoted  to  study — to 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  77 

reading  and  writing  ?  Not  more  than  three  hours  a 
day ;  and,  when  Parliament  is  sitting,  not  always  that. 
But  then,  during  those  hours,  I 'have  given  my  whole 
attention  to  what  I  was  about." 


AN  APPLICATION  FOR  A  CLERKSHIP. 

MANY  young  and  talented  persons  miss  the  road  to 
fortune  by  the  want  of  humility  and  patience.  They 
think  every  thing  must  depend  on  "  a  good  start,"  and 
unless  they  can  make  "  a  good  engagement,"  they  will 
remain  out  of  employment  for  weeks  and  months.  They 
miss  three  things — support  for  that  time,  the  practice 
that  keeps  talents  improving,  and  the  furnishing  of  the 
best  evidence  that  they  are  willing  to  work.  A  man  is 
far  more  h'kely  to  be  called  from  a  humble  to  a  more 
advantageous  position,  than  from  idleness  to  the  place  he 
desires.  Even  in  prison  Joseph  made  himself  useful  by 
labour,  and  thus  showed  what  he  was  fitted  for,  and 
built  the  ladder  that  led  him  out  of  obscurity.  But  now, 
there  are  many  young  men,  who,  if  they  cannot  have 
"  good  situations,"  will  not  do  any  thing.  They  forget 
that  any  situation  of  honest  toil  is  good  when  compared 
with  idleness,  and  that  it  is  better  to  labour  where  they 
can  receive  only  a  sufficiency  for  the  time,  than  to  re- 
main out  of  employment,  and  besides  the  daily  expense 
of  living  thus,  they  are  in  danger  of  forming  habits  of  in- 
dolence, and  ruinous  expenditure. 


78    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

The  trouble  with  many  young  men  is  a  foolish  pride, 
which  seems  to  say  that  idleness  is  more  honourable 
than  work.  They  ha've  very  delicate  feelings ;  it  goes 
"  against  their  feelings  "  to  do  this  and  that,  when  there 
is  nothing  whatever  of  immorality  or  debasement  con- 
nected with  the  employment.  To  give  an  instance,  we 
will  repeat  a  dialogue  which  took  place  recently. 

A  young  man,  nicely  brushed  up  and  very  genteel, 
entered  an  office,  and  with  a  polite  air  addressed  the 
gentleman  there  with,  "  Sir,  you  want  a  young  man  here, 
I  believe  ! "  "  Yes,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Here  are  my  recommendations,"  said  the  young  man, 
as  he  handed  a  paper  certifying  that  he  was  worthy  of 
confidence,  &c. 

The  gentleman  read  the  paper,  and  looked  up  re- 
marking, "  We  should  be  glad  to  do  your  friends  the 
compliment  of  engaging  you,  and  therefore  you  will 
please  let  me  say  something  in  regard  to  fitness." 

"  What  shall  I  be  expected  to  do  ?  "  asked  the  young 
man. 

"  To  aid  in  the  office  as  opportunity  may  present,  and 
to  pay  notes,  and  collect  drafts,  &c.,"  was  the  answer. 

"  I  don't  think  collecting  drafts  would  agree  with  my 
feelings,"  replied  the  young  man. 

"  Well ! "  quietly  responded  the  gentleman,  "  I  would 
not  advise  you  to  do  any  thing  against  your  feelings. 
Good-morning." 

Here  it  is  how  they  miss  it.  A  certain  fastidiousness 
of  feeling  is  set  up  where  there  is  nothing  dishonourable 
— nothing  that  should  be  repulsive  to  the  most  conscien- 
tious. What  can  be  less  against  all  true  and  worthy  feel,- 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  79 

ing  than  the  collection  of  drafts  ?  What  is  there  to  soil 
glove  or  fingers,  sensibility  or  conscience  ?  But  this  is 
only  a  specimen  of  the  scores  of  ways  in  which  "  my 
feelings  "  are  brought  into  collision  with  virtuous  labour 
and  honourable  industry.  What  sphere  of  life  is  there 
where  the  education  and  discipline  of  the  feelings  is  not 
of  first  importance  ?  Early  attention  to  this  would  pre- 
vent a  foolish  fastidiousness  from  springing  up,  and  it 
would  avoid  a  thousand  volcanic  eruptions  in  counting- 
houses,  where  feelings  in  one  member  and  another  cross 
each  other,  like  the  sea  crossing  into  the  central  fires  of 
the  earth,  and  bidding  Vesuvius  to  spout  up  its  erup- 
tions. 

Strength  of  feeling  is  good.  It  is  not  necessarily  an 
evil.  It  is  the  source  of  energy,  promptness,  and  power. 
It  aids  quickness  of  thought,  readiness  of  apprehension, 
and  concentration  of  abilities.  But,  undisciplined,  it  is 
injurious.  It  is  constantly  bringing  a  man  into  painful 
contact  unnecessarily  with  his  fellows,  and  it  erects  false 
barriers  to  usefulness  and  fortune.  Strength  of  feeling 
belongs  to  all  great  men.  The  calmness  and  dignity  of 
Washington  only  showed  that  divinity  of  principle  that 
ruled  the  storm.  How  perpetually,  through  the  struggle 
for  independence,  did  things  come  up  "  not  agreeable  to 
his  feelings  ; "  but  he  curbed  and  disciplined  those  feel- 
ings, and  instead  of  permitting  them  to  be  a  wild-horse, 
to  bear  him  in  seeming  retreat  from  the  battle-field  of 
Freedom,  Ihey  were  as  the  war-horse  on  which  he  rode 
grandly  from  victory  to  victory. 


80   '  READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


KEEP  YOUR  DESIGNS  TO  YOURSELF. 

NEVER  talk  of  your  designs  till  they  have  been  ac- 
complished, and  even  then  the  less  you  say  the  better. 
This  is  a  very  important  caution  for  the  merchant  or  man 
of  business.  Some  persons  are  naturally  so  talkative, 
that  they  no  sooner  form  a  design  of  entering  into  a 
speculation,  or  following  some  particular  branch  of  trade 
or  commerce,  than  they  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
acquainting  all  their  friends  with  it.  By  giving  way  to 
this  weakness,  you  put  it  in  the  power  of  others  to  fore- 
stall you,  and  those  whose  interests  interfere  with  yours 
will  do  all  they  can  to  disappoint  you,  for  their  own  ad- 
vantage. In  this  respect,  the  example  of  Girard,  the 
Napoleon  of  commerce,  is  worthy  of  all  imitation.  No 
man  ever  heard  him  boast  of  what  he  would  do.  He 
remained  quiet  and  silent  till  the  time  came  for  action, 
and  then  he  struck  the  blow  with  an  unerring  aim,  which 
insured  him  success.  As  a  merchant,  he  was  inquisitive, 
active,  prompt,  and  sagacious,  studious  to  learn  all  he 
could  from  others,  and  as  careful  to  impart  nothing  in 
return. 


THE  RIGHT  AIM. 

THE  aim  makes  the  man — the  spirit,  the  energy,  the 
greatness  or  bitterness  of  the  character  and  life.     "When 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  81 

the  merchant's  aim  is  right,  he  will  have  something  that 
shall  survive  defeat,  and  glorify  even  poverty  ;  and,  when 
accumulating  prosperity  is  his,  it  shall  not  undermine 
his  principles,  nor  make  him  insensible  to  the  uses  of 
wealth. 

A  short  time  since,  two  merchants  in  the  same  line  of 
business  in  our  city  were  conversing  on  the  method  to  be 
adopted  to  make  a  fortune. 

The  one  remarked,  "I  have  been  working  fifteen 
years  to  establish  a  quality  of  goods,  and  to  fix  a  reputa- 
tion ;  and  I  shall  hold  to  the  reputation  I  have  gained, 
and  shall  carefully  keep  up  the  quality  of  my  manufac- 
tures." 

"  Pooh  !  "  answered  the  other,  "  I  shall  do  no  such 
thing.  I'm  not  going  to  work  as  long  as  that,  but  am 
determined  to  make  a  fortune  in  a  few  years,  and  let  the 
reputation  go." 

Here  are  the  representatives  of  the  two  classes  in  the 
mercantile  community  ;  the  one,  to  whom  character  and 
conscience  are  unspeakable  wealth ;  the  other,  to  whom 
they  are  nothing. 

It  is  easy  to  go  through  the  histories  of  our  prominent 
merchants,  and  see  the  wisdom  of  the  one  class,  and  the 
folly  of  the  other ;  for  the  aim  of  the  man  is  not  some- 
thing he  can  always  keep  covered  up  and  out  of  sight. 
It  will  gleam  out,  to  shame  or  dignify ;  and  shrewd  busi- 
ness men  soon  discover  on  what  principles  trade  is  con- 
ducted by  those  with  whom  they  are  brought  in  contact. 
They  are  repelled  by  the  discernment  of  the  low  and 
mean  aim,  as  they  are  attracted  by  the  noble  and  gen- 
erous spirit  of  the  true  merchant. 

6 


82    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Hence,  though  now  and  then  to  test  man's  regard  for 
lofty  principle,  some  flashy  adventurer  may  amass  a  for- 
tune speedily,  yet  the  greater  amount  of  success  will  be 
found,  as  it  is  found,  in  the  department  of  science  and 
discovery,  with  the  men  of  generous  purposes,  dignifying 
aims,  cautious,  and  unpresuming,  addressing  themselves 
to  what  is  right,  as  well  as  to  what  promises  immediate 
success. 

A  man  who  goes  on  the  policy  of  deception  and  cheat- 
ing, begins  by  deceiving  and  cheating  himself;  and  he  is 
distinguished  from  the  upright  by  the  inward  experience, 
which  has  more  to  do  with  the  enjoyment  of  life  than 
wealth  or  poverty — by  the  regard  in  which  he  is  held  in 
the  community — by  his  influence  on  the  young,  and  those 
connected  with  him  in  business,  and  by  the  chances  of 
recovery  from  disaster,  should  that  overtake  him.  "  My 
misfortune,"  said  a  good  merchant,  "was  made  almost 
sweet  to  me  by  the  kind  expressions  drawn  out  by  it 
from  so  many  of  my  fellow-citizens." 

Tliat  is  the  reward  of  a  Right  Aim  ! 


STICK  TO  YOUR  BUSINESS. 

THERE  is  nothing  which  should  be  more  frequently 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  young  men,  than  the  import- 
ance of  steadily  pursuing  some  one  business.  The  fre- 
quent changing  from  one  employment  to  another  is  one 
of  the  most  common  errors  committed ;  and  to  it  may  be 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  83 

traced  more  than  half  the  failures  of  men  in  business,  and 
much  of  the  discontent  and  disappointment  that  render 
life  uncomfortable.  It  is  a  very  common  thing  for  a  man 
to  be  dissatisfied  with  his  business,  and  to  desire  to 
change  it  for  some  other,  which  seems  to  him  will  prove 
a  more  lucrative  employment,  but  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
it  is  a  mistake.  Look  round  you,  and  you  will  among 
your  acquaintances  find  abundant  verification  of  our  as- 
sertion. 

Here  is  a  young  man  who  commenced  life  as  a  me- 
chanic, but  from  some  cause  imagined  that  he  ought  to 
have  been  a  doctor ;  and,  after  a  hasty  and  shallow  pre- 
paration, has  taken  up  the  saddle-bags,  only  to  find  work 
is  still  work,  and  that  his  patients  are  no  more  profitable 
than  his  work-bench,  and  the  occupation  not  a  whit  more 
agreeable. 

Here  are  two  young  men,  clerks ;  one  of  them  is  con- 
tent, when  his  first  term  of  service  is  over,  to  continue  a 
clerk  till  he  shall  have  saved  enough  to  commence  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account ;  the  other  cannot  wait,  but 
starts  off  without  capital,  and  with  a  limited  experience, 
and  brings  up,  after  a  few  years,  in  a  court  of  insolvency, 
while  his  former  comrade,  by  patient  perseverance,  comes 
out  at  last  with  a  fortune. 

That  young  lawyer  who  became  disheartened  because 
briefs  and  cases  did  not  crowd  upon  him  while  he  was 
yet  redolent  of  calf-bound  volumes,  and  had  small  use  for 
red  tape — who  concluded  that  he  had  mistaken  his  call- 
ing, and  so  plunged  into  politics,  finally  settled  down  into 
the  character  of  a  meddling  pettifogger,  scrambling  for 
his  daily  bread. 


84          READINGS    FOR    YOUNG    MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

There  is  an  honest  farmer  who  has  toiled  a  few  years, 
got  his  farm  paid  for,  but  does  not  grow  rich  very  rapidly, 
as  much  for  lack  of  contentment  mingled  with  his  indus- 
try as  any  thing,  though  he  is  not  aware  of  it.  He  hears 
the  wonderful  stories  of  Australia,  and  how  fortunes  may 
be  had  for  the  trouble  of  picking  them  up  ;  mortgages  his 
farm  to  raise  money ;  goes  away  to  the  land  of  gold,  and, 
after  many  months  of  hard  toil,  comes  home  to  commence 
again  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  for  a  more  weary  and  less 
successful  climbing  up  again. 

Mark  the  men  in  every  community  who  are  notorious 
for  ability,  and  equally  notorious  for  never  getting  ahead, 
and  you  will  usually  find  them  to  be  those  who  never 
stick  to  any  one  business  long,  but  are  always  forsaking 
their  occupation  just  when  it  begins  to  be  profitable. 

Young  men,  stick  to  your  business.  It  may  be  you 
have  mistaken  your  calling — if  so,  find  it  out  as  quick  as 
possible  and  change  it ;  but  do  not  let  any  uneasy  desire 
to  get  along  fast,  or  a  dislike  of  your  honest  calling,  lead 
you  to  abandon  it.  Have  some  honest  occupation,  and 
then  stick  to  it ;  if  you  are  sticking  type,  stick  away  at 
them ;  if  you  are  selling  oysters,  keep  on  selling  them ; 
if  you  are  at  the  law,  hold  fast  to  that  profession ;  pursue 
the  business  you  have  chosen  persistently,  industriously, 
and  hopefully,  and  if  there  is  any  thing  of  you  it  will 
appear  and  turn  to  account  in  that  as  well,  or  better  than 
in  any  other  calling ;  only,  if  you  are  a  loafer,  forsake 
that  line  of  life  as  speedily  as  possible,  for  the  longer  you 
stick  to  it,  the  worse  it  will  stick  to  you. 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  85 


TO-DAY  AND   TO-MORROW. 

Do  not  tell  me  of  to-morrow, 

There  is  much  to  do  to-day, 
That  can  never  be  accomplished 

If  we  throw  the  hours  away ! 
Every  moment  has  its  duty, 

Who  the  future  can  foretell  ? 
Then  why  defer  till  to-morrow 

What  to-day  can  do -as  well  ? 


ALPHA  AND    OMEGA;   OR,   THE   SECRET   OF 
SUCCESS. 

THERE  is  a  class  of  men  who  rail  at  fortune,  and  ac- 
cuse her  of  being  blind  in  her  gifts.  They  say  that  dull, 
plodding  men  succeed,  while  men  of  brilliant  attainments 
fail ;  but  they  never  pause  to  ask  why  it  is  so.  To  the 
end  of  their  days  they  continue  to  murmur  at  fickle  for- 
tune, whereas  they  would  be  far  wiser  to  complain  of 
fickle  self.  There  is  a  simple  truth,  too,  often  lost  sight 
of  by  the  world,  which  he  shall  now  seek  to  demon- 
strate ;  It  is,  that  the  lesser  virtues  win. 

Alpha  and  Omega  begin  life  together  as  clerks  in  a 
merchant's  counting-room.  Alpha  has  more  varied  tal- 
ents than  Omega,  and  gains  more  favour  in  the  eyes  of 


86          READINGS    FOR   TOTING   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

their  employer  during  the  first  few  months.  There  is  no 
denying  that  Alpha  is  smart,  and  Omega  comparatively 
slow.  Alpha  can  accomplish  more  work  in  a  given 
time;  but  Omega  is  more  painstaking.  It  occurs  to 
Alpha  that  all  his  duties  can  be  performed  in  less  time 
than  he  now  gives  to  them,  and  he  determines  to  come  to 
business  a  little  later,  and  leave  a  little  earlier.  Omega 
is  always  punctual.  One  evening  their  employer  stays 
late  in  town,  and,  wanting  the  services  of  Alpha,  finds  him 
not  at  his  books,  and  has  to  ask  Omega  to  do  his  work. 
Again  and  again  this  occurs :  but  Alpha  is  always  ready 
with  his  excuse,  and  his  employer  is  of  an  indulgent 
nature. 

The  dissipations  of  the  world  have  strong  allurements 
for  Alpha,  and  he  often  comes  to  business  with  feverish 
brow  and  nervous  hands.  His  thoughts  are  then  how  to 
dissemble  his  sufferings,  not  how  to  fulfil  his  duties.  His 
books  are  carelessly  kept,  and  he  is  told  to  imitate 
Omega.  Then  Alpha  begins  to  murmur  at  life.  The 
plodding  Omega  preferred  to  him  !  why,  he  "  could  talk 
and  write  down  such  a  fellow  any  day."  "  Very  true, 
Alpha,  but  you  forget  that  Omega  does  much  more  use- 
ful work  in  a  year."  Omega  is  persevering,  and  is 
continually  surmounting  difficulties  over  which  Alpha 
stumbles,  until  at  last  Omega's  painstaking,  punctual, 
and  persevering  habits  are  known  to  insure  reliability 
in  every  business  transaction,  and  he  is  rewarded  by 
being  made  a  partner  in  the  firm,  while  Alpha  remains  a 
clerk  on  sufferance. 

Shall  we  pursue  the  story  further,  and  see  Omega 
rising  to  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  fortune,  and  Alpha 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  87 

sinking  lower  into  the  gulf  of  dissipation?  Shall  we 
hearken  to  the  latter  railing  at  fortune,  while  in  his 
every  action  he  courts  misfortune  ?  Shall  we  view  him 
wilfully  perverting  his  talents,  and  yet  blaming  society 
for  not  seeing  him  as  he  might  have  been,  instead  of  as 
he  is  ?  Shall  we  gaze  on  him,  when,  an  utterly  ruined 
and  disappointed  man,  he  falls  into  a  premature  grave, 
self-deluded  to  the  last  ? 

We  prefer  to  dwell  for  a  moment  on  a  more  pleasing 
subject — the  moral  to  be  gathered  from  the  life  of 
Omega.  We  have  said  that  the  lesser  virtues  win,  and 
it  ever  must  be  so ;  for  they  lead  to  the  higher  virtues. 
Painstaking  perseverance  lead  to  strict  probity.  Omega 
was  engaged  to  do  his  very  best  for  his  employers,  and 
he  scrupulously  did  so.  To  dissipate  is  not  alone  to 
trifle  with  health  and  reputation,  but  to  rob  the  employer 
of  a  portion  of  the  time  for  which  he  pays.  It  is  not 
enough  for  a  young  man  to  say  he  will  be  in  business 
during  the  hours  specified,  but  he  should  come  calm  and 
collected,  so  as  to  perform  his  duties  well ;  and  to  insure 
this  he  must  be  as  regular  in  his  habits  away  from  busi- 
ness as  when  in  business.  The  punctual  man  becomes 
the  honourable  man,  for  in  saving  moments  he  preserves 
his  good  faith  with  the  world.  His  word  rises  in  public 
estimation,  for  it  is  known  to  be  the  word  of  a  truly 
honest  man.  Prize  then  the  lesser  virtues,  young  men, 
on  the  threshold  of  life,  and  then  in  the  meridian  of  your 
days  the- higher  virtues  will  be  your  solace  and  reward. 


88    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


PARSIMONY  AND  ECONOMY  IN  TRADE. 

ONE  might  suppose  that  parsimony  and  economy  in 
trade  would  require  but  a  few  words  of  explanation  to 
the  reader.  To  some  the  bare  announcement  is  sufficient 
to  indicate  the  difference,  but  to  others  the  clearest  rea- 
soning will  not  avail.  This  may  be  owing  to  the  fact, 
that  they  have  been  accustomed  to  confound  the  one  with 
the  other  in  all  the  affairs  of  life — in  the  family  and  in 
business,  in  pleasure  and  in  profit. 

A  person  of  this  stamp  wishes  to  go  into  business ;  he 
has  some  little  capital,  but  not  much  experience.  He 
chooses  the  profession  of  a  grocer  or  a  merchant,  and, 
supposing  that  parsimony  is  economy,  in  order  to  save 
rent  he  commences  business  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
or  in  some  obscure  alley  or  unfrequented  street,  and  fails 
to  succeed,  and  wonders  why  it  is,  with  all  his  industry 
and  economy,  he  cannot  make  both  ends  meet,  much  less 
thrive !  His  parsimony  is  the  chief  cause  of  his  failure. 
But  you  cannot  convince  him  of  it,  and  he  will  live  and 
die  in  the  little  nest  which  his  own  hands  created,  and 
grieve  to  think  that  fortune  has  not  been  more  gracious 
in  the  bestowment  of  her  favours  upon  him. 

Another  person  opens  an  establishment  in  Chestnut- 
street  ;  he  has  but  recently  come  to  the  city,  having  been 
a  successful  merchant  in  one  of  the  towns  in  the  interior 
of  the  State,  where  he  was  known  by  every  one,  as  he 
was  born  and  raised  in  the  county.  Neither  he,  nor  his 
father  before  him,  had  ever  availed  themselves  of  the 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  89 

facilities  of  advertising  in  the  county  papers,  and  yet 
they  got  along,  and  in  process  of  time  amassed  what,  in 
that  region,  was  considered  to  be  quite  a  fortune.  He 
now  opens  a  fine  stock  of  goods  in  a  commodious  house 
in  Chestnut-street,  and  thinks  that  everybody  knows 
him,  and  of  course  will  trade  with  him.  Was  he  not 
known  in  Buncombe  ?  Did  he  not  come  from  Lancaster  ? 
He  has  fallen  into  the  delusion  that,  because  he  was 
known  in  the  town  and  county  that  gave  him  birth,  that 
certainly  he  must  be  known  here. 

On  the  score  of  economy,  as  he  deems  it,  he  refuses  to 
advertise.  It  costs  too  much;  he  never  did  it  before, 
why  do  it  now  ?  He  has  a  good  house,  he  has  good 
stock,  he  has  competent  clerks  ;  he  himself  is  a  pleasant 
and  accommodating  merchant.  Why  does  he  not  suc- 
ceed ?  Nobody  knows  him,  or  cares  to  know  him.  The 
competition  in  the  market  does  not  permit  Mr.  Fogy  to 
become  a  necessity.  Chestnut-street  can  do  without  him, 
and  the  city  would  not  miss  him  any  more  than  she 
would  a  fly,  if  he  was  to  move  to  parts  unknown.  Now, 
what  does  economy  of  rent  require  ?  What  of  clerk's 
hire  ?  What  of  interest  on  capital  ?  What  of  time  ? 
They  all  require  that  he  should  invest  something  in  ad- 
vertising, and  that  too  on  a  liberal  scale.  Not  in  one 
paper  only,  but  in  many ;  not  occasionally,  but  con- 
stantly ;  and  he  will  soon  find  the  benefit  of  so  doing. 
Parsimony  may  say  No !  it  will  be  too  expensive :  you 
can't  stnnd  it.  But  economy  replies : — You  are  mis- 
taken ;  I  must  advertise  to  be  known,  to  be  felt,  to  be 
appreciated.  If  I  feel  interested  in  my  own  success,  my 
neighbours  will  sympathize  with  me ;  and,  if  they  see 


90    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

me  helping   myself,  they  will  cheerfully  and  promptly 
come  to  my  aid. 

Take  the  following  illustration  of  the  difference  be- 
tween parsimony  and  economy.  Sir  Walter  Scott  tells 
of  a  near  kinsman,  who,  having  been  informed  that  a 
family  vault  of  his  was  decaying  and  likely  to  fall  in, 
and  that  ten  pounds  would  make  the  repairs,  proffered 
only  five  pounds.  It  would  not  do.  Two  years  after  he 
proffered  the  full  sum.  He  was  assured  that  twenty 
pounds  would  scarce  serve.  He  hesitated,  hemmed  and 
hawed  for  three  years  more,  then  offered  twenty  pounds. 
The  wind  and  rain  had  not  waited  for  his  decision,  and 
not  less  than  fifty  pounds  would  now  suffice.  A  year 
afterwards  he  sent  a  check  for  fifty  pounds,  which  was 
returned  by  post,  with  the  intelligence  that  the  aisle  ha'd 
fallen  the  preceding  week.  The  reader  will  make  his 
own  application. 


SELF-RELIANCE  IMPORTANT  TO  THE 
MERCHANT. 

SELF-RELIANCE  to  the  merchant,  and  indeed  to  all 
who  would  succeed  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  laudable 
purpose  or  pursuit,  is  indispensable.  It  was  this  trait, 
perhaps,  more  than  any  other,  that  enabled  an  Astor,  a 
Girard,  a  Gray,  in  our  own  country,  to  work  out  for 
themselves  vast  fortunes — to  accumulate  millions.  An 
eminent  writer  has  somewhere  said,  if  our  young  men 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  91 

miscarry  in  their  first  enterprise  they  lose  all  heart.  If 
a  young  merchant  fails,  men  say  he  is  ruined.  If  the 
finest  genius  studies  in  one  of  our  colleges,  and  is  not 
installed  in  an  office  in  one  year  afterwards,  it  seems 
to  his  friends  and  himself  that  he  is  right  in  being  dis- 
heartened, and  in  complaining  the  rest  of  his  life.  A 
sturdy  Yankee  who  in  turn  tries  all  the  professions,  who 
teams  it,  farms  it,  peddles,  keeps  a  school,  preaches,  edits 
a  newspaper,  goes  to  Congress,  buys  a  township,  and  so 
forth,  in  successive  years,  and  always,  like  a  cat,  falls  on 
his  feet,  is  worth  a  hundred  of  these  city  dolls.  He 
walks  abreast  with  his  days,  and  feels  no  shame  in  not 
studying  a  profession,  for  he  does  not  postpone  his  life, 
but  lives  already.  He  has  not  one  chance  !  Let  a  stoic 
arise  who  shall  reveal  the  resources  of  man,  and  tell  men 
they  are  not  weeping  willows,  but  can  and  must  detach 
themselves ;  that,  with  the  exercise  of  self-trust,  new 
powers  shall  appear ;  that  a  man  is  the  word  made  flesh, 
born  to  shed  healing  to  the  nations  ;  that  he  should  be 
ashamed  of  our  compassion  ;  and  that  the  moment  he 
acts  from  himself,  tossing  the  laws,  the  books'  idolatries 
and  customs  out  of  the  window,  we  pity  him  no  more, 
but  thank  him  and  revere  him — and  that  teacher  shall 
restore  the  life  of  man  to  splendour,  and  make  his  name 
dear  to  all  history.  It  is  easier  to  see  that  a  greater 
self-reliance — a  new  respect  for  the  divinity  in  man — 
must  work  a  revolution  in  all  the  ofiices  and  relations  of 
men ;  in  -their  religion,  in  their  education,  in  their  pur- 
suits, their  modes  of  living,  their  association,  in  their 
property,  in  their  speculative  views. 


92    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


MICAWBER'S    ADVICE. 

"  My  advice  is,  Never  to  do  to-morrow  what  you  can 
do  to-day;  'procrastination  is  the  thief  of  time.'  My 
other  piece  of  advice  is  :  Annual  income  £20,  annual  ex- 
penditure £19  19«.  %d.  result,  happiness.  Annual  income, 
£20,  annual  expenditure,  £20  Os.  Qd.  result,  misery.  The 
blossom  is  blighted,  the  leaf  is  withered,  the  god  of  days 
goes  down  upon  the  dreary  scene,  and,  in  short,  you  are 
for  ever  floored — as  I  am  now." 


HOW  TO  MAKE  MONEY. 

LET  the  business  of  everybody  else  alone,  and  attend 
to  your  own ;  do  not  buy  what  you  do  not  want ;  use 
every  hour  to  advantage,  and  study  to  make  even  leisure 
hours  useful,  think  twice  before  you  throw  away  a  shil- 
ling— remember  you  will  have  another  to  make  for  it ; 
find  recreation  in  looking  after  your  business,  and  so 
your  business  will  not  be  neglected  in  looking  after  re- 
creation ;  buy  low  ;  sell  fair,  and  take  care  of  the  profits ; 
look  over  your  books  regularly,  and  if  you  find  an  error, 
trace  it  out;  should  a  stroke  of  misfortune  come  upon 
you  in  trade,  retrench,  work  harder,  "  but  never  fly  the 
track ; "  confront  difficulties  with  unflinching  persever- 
ance, and  they  will  disappear  at  last ;  though  you  should 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  93 

even  fail  in  the  struggle,  you  will  be  honoured ;  but 
shrink  from  the  task,  and  YOU  will  be  despised.  By  fol- 
lowing these  rules,  however,  you  never  need  say  "  fail ; " 
pay  debts  promptly,  and  so  exact  your  dues ;  keep  your 
word. 


GAMBLING. 

No  passion  can  leap  to  such  extremities,  nor  involve  a 
man  in  such  a  complicated  train  of  crimes  and  vices,  and 
ruin  whole  families  so  completely,  as  the  baneful  rage  for 
gambling.  It  produces  and  nourishes  all  imaginable  dis- 
graceful sensations ;  it  is  the  most  fertile  nursery  of  covet- 
ousness,  envy,  rage,  malice,  dissimulation,  falsehood,  and 
foolish  reliance  on  blind  fortune ;  it  frequently  leads  to 
fraud,  quarrels,  murder,  forgery,  meanness,  and  despair ; 
and  robs  us  in  the  most  unpardonable  manner  of  the 
greatest  and  most  irrecoverable  treasure — time.  Those 
that  are  rich  act  foolishly  in  venturing  their  money  in 
uncertain  speculations ;  and  those  that  have  not  much  to 
risk  must  play  with  timidity,  and  cannot  long  continue 
play  unless  the  fortune  of  the  game  turn,  as  being  obliged 
to  quit  the  field  at  the  first  heavy  blow ;  or  if  they  stake 
every  thing  to  force  the  blind  goddess  to  smile  upon  them 
at  last,  madly  hazard  their  being  reduced  to  instant  beg- 
gary. The  gambler  but  rarely  dies  a  rich  man ;  those 
that  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  realize  some  property 
in  this  miserable  way,  and  continue  playing,  are  guilty  of 
a  twofold  folly.  Trust  no  person  of  that  description,  of 
whatever  rank  or  character  he  may  be. 


94    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


JEFFERSON'S  TEN  RULES. 

1.  Never  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  you  can  do  to- 
day. 

2.  Never  trouble  another  for  what  you  can  do  yourself. 

3.  Never  spend  your  money  before  you  have  it. 

4.  Never  buy  what   you  do  not  want  because  it  is 
cheap. 

5.  Pride  costs  us  more  than  hunger,  thirst,  and  cold. 

6.  We  seldom  repent  of  having  eaten  too  little. 

7.  Nothing  is  troublesome  that  we  do  willingly. 

8.  How  much  pain  the  evils  have  cost  us  that  have 
never  happened ! 

9.  Take  things  always  by  the  smooth  handle. 

10.  "When  angry,  count  ten  before  you  speak  ;  if  very 
angry,  a  hundred. 


TO-MORROW. 

TO-MORROW  you  will  live,  you  always  cry ; 
lut  what  far  country  does  this  morrow  lie, 
That  'tis  so  mighty  long  ere  it  arrive  ? 
Beyond  the  Indies  does  this  morrow  live  ? 
'Tis  so  far-fetched,  this  morrow,  that  I  fear 
'Twill  be  both  very  old  and  very  dear. 
To-morrow  I  will  live,  the  fool  doth  say ; 
To-day  itself ;  too  late ;  the  wise  lived  yesterday. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  95 


A  WORD  TO    MERCHANTS. 

IN  your  converse  with  the  world  avoid  any  thing  like 
a  juggling  dexterity.  The  proper  use  of  dexterity  is  to 
prevent  your  being  circumvented  by  the  cunning  of 
others.  It  should  not  be  aggressive.  Concessions  and 
compromises  form  a  large  and  a  very  important  part  of 
our  dealings  with  others.  Concessions  must  generally  be 
looked  upon  as  distinct  defeats ;  and  you  must  expect  no 
gratitude  for  them.  I  am  far  from  saying  that  it  may  not 
be  wise  to  make  concessions ;  but  this  will  be  done  more 
wisely  when  you  understand  the  nature  of  them.  In 
making  compromises,  do  not  think  to  gain  by  concealing 
your  views  and  wishes.  You  are  as  likely  to  suffer  from 
its  not  being  known  how  to  please  or  satisfy  you,  as  from 
any  attempt  to  overreach  you,  grounded  on  a  knowledge 
of  your  wishes.  Delay  is,  hi  some  instances,  to  be 
adopted  advisedly.  It  sometimes  brings  a  person  to 
reason  when  nothing  else  could;  when  his  mind  is  so 
occupied  with  one  idea,  that  he  completely  overestimates 
its  relative  importance,  he  can  hardly  be  brought  to  look 
at  the  subject  calmly,  by  any  force  of  reasoning.  For 
this  disease  time  is  the  only  doctor.  A  good  man  of 
business  is  very  watchful,  both  over  himself  and  others, 
to  prevent  things  from  being  carried  against  his  sense  of 
right  in  moments  of  lassitude.  After  a  matter  has  been 
much  discussed,  whether  to  the  purpose  or  not,  there 
comes  a  time  when  all  parties  are  anxious  that  it  should 
be  settled ;  and  there  is  then  some  danger  of  the  handiest 


96    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

way  of  getting  rid  of  the  matter  being  taken  for  the  best. 
A  man  of  business  should  take  care  to  consult  occasion- 
ally with  persons  of  a  nature  quite  different  from  his 
own.  To  very  few  are  given  all  the  qualities  requisite 
to  form  a  good  man  of  business.  Thus,  a  man  may  have 
the  sternness  and  the  fixedness  of  purpose  so  necessary 
in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  yet  these  qualities  prevent  him, 
perhaps,  from  entering  into  the  character  of  those  about 
him.  He  is  likely  to  want  tact.  He  will  be  unprepared 
for  the  extent  of  versatility  and  vacillation  in  other  men. 
But  these  defects  and  oversights  might  be  remedied  by 
consulting  with  persons  whom  he  knows  to  be  possessed 
of  the  qualities  supplementary  to  his  own.  Men  of  much 
depth  of  mind  can  bear  a  great  deal  of  counsel ;  for  it 
does  not  easily  deface  their  own  character,  nor  render 
their  purposes  indistinct. 


CHEER  UP. 

NEVER  go  gloomily,  man  with  a  mind, 
Hope  is  a  better  companion  than  fear, 
Providence,  ever  benignant  and  kind, 
Gives  with  a  smile  what  it  takes  with  a  tear. 

All  will  be  right ! 

Look  to  the  light ! 

Morning  is  ever  the  daughter  of  night, 
All  that  is  black  will  be  all  that  is  bright 

Cheerily,  cheerily,  then,  cheer  up  ! 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  97 

Many  a  foe  is  a  friend  in  disguise, 

Many  a  sorrow  a  blessing  most  true — 

Helping  the  heart  to  be  happy  and  wise, 

With  love  ever  precious  and  joys  ever  new. 
Stand  in  the  van, 
Strive  like  a  man  ! 

Trusting  in  God  while  you  do  what  you  can, 

This  is  the  bravest  and  cleverest  plan. 

Cheerily,  cheerily,  then,  cheer  up ! 


SAVE,  SAVE,  SAVE! 

WHAT  is  there  a  man  cannot  save  and  improve  ?  By 
curbing  appetite  and  restraining  passion,  by  observing 
prudence  and  maintaining  regularity,  he  may  save  his 
health,  husband  his  strength,  and  thus  preserve  the  springs 
of  life  as  constant  fountains  of  energy  and  happiness,  to 
sustain  and  cherish  him  under  every  labour  and  every 
hardship.  He  may  save  a  fortune  by  industry  and  deny- 
ing himself  needless  indulgence,  and  he  may  find  a  pure 
enjoyment  in  devoting  it  to  noble  uses.  Time — the  indo- 
lent might  make  wealth  of  it — the  most  industrious  im- 
prove upon  their  use  of  it.  It  comes  to  us  in  brief  minutes, 
to  show  tfs  that  present  application  is  the  sole  duty  re- 
quired of  us ;  yet  these  so  weave  in  and  make  up  our 
days  and  years,  that  misimprovement  of  the  present  is 
always  at  the  expense  of  the  future.  One  of  the  hours 
7 


98     READINGS  FOR  TOUXG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

each  day,  wasted  on  trifles  or  indolence,  saved,  and  daily 
devoted  to  improvement,  is  enough  to  make  an  ignorant 
man  wise  in  ten  years — to  provide  the  luxury  of  intelli- 
gence to  a  mind  torpid  from  want  of  thought — to  brighten 
up  and  strengthen  faculties  perishing  with  rust — to  make 
life  a  fruitful  field,  and  '  death  a  harvester  of  glorious 
deeds. 


CARLYLE'S  ADVICE   TO  YOUNG  MEN. 

THE  following  letter,  by  the  giant  philosopher  Carlyle, 
was  cut  from  a  small  Scotch  provincial  newspaper,  some 
sixteen  years  ago.  "  It  was  addressed,"  says  our  author- 
ity, "  to  a  young  man  who  had  written  to  Mr.  Carlyle, 
desiring  his  advice  as  to  a  proper  choice  of  reading," 
and,  it  would  appear,  as  to  his  conduct  in  general.  We 
most  earnestly  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of  young 
men,  as  containing  advice  of  the  most  valuable  and  prac- 
ticable description,  and  pregnant  with  truth  with  which 
they  cannot  be  too  well  acquainted.  The  young  are  too 
much  inclined  to  be  dissatisfied  with  their  actual  condi- 
tion, and  to  neglect  their  immediate  duties  in  vain  aspira- 
tions after  others  beyond  their  lot ;  and  they  need  the 
monitions  of  such  a  kind,  but  vigorous  and  emphatic, 
adviser  as  Mr.  Carlyle,  and  to  have  it  impressed  on  their 

minds,  that 

"  To  do, 

That  which  before  us  lies  in  daily  life, 
1&  the  prime  wisdom." 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  99 

DEAR  SIR, — Some  time  ago  your  letter  was  delivered 
me  ;  I  take  literally  the  first  free  half  hour  I  have  had 
since  to  write  you  a  word  of  answer. 

It  would  give  me  true  satisfaction  could  any  advice  of 
mine  contribute  to  forward  you  in  your  honourable  course 
of  self-improvement ;  but  a  long  experience  has  taught 
me  that  advice  can  profit  but  little — that  there  is  a  good 
reason  why  advice  is  so  seldom  followed  ;  this  reason, 
namely,  that  it  is  so  seldom,  and  can  almost  never  be 
rightly  given.  No  man  knows  the  state  of  another ;  it 
is  always  to  some  more  or  less  imaginary  man  that  the 
wisest  and  most  honest  adviser  is  speaking. 

As  to  the  books  which  you — whom  I  know  so  little  of 
— should  read,  there  is  hardly  any  thing  definite  that  can 
be  said.  For  one  thing,  you  may  be  strenuously  advised 
to  keep  reading.  Any  good  book,  any  book  that  is  wiser 
than  yourself,  will  teach  you  something — a  great  many 
things  indirectly  and  directly,  if  your  mind  be  open 
to  learn.  This  old  counsel  of  Johnson's  is  also  good, 
and  universally  applicable — "  Read  the  book  you  do  hon- 
estly feel  a  wish  and  curiosity  to  read."  The  very  wish 
and  curiosity  indicates  that  you,  then  and  there,  are  the 
person  likely  to  get  good  of  it.  "Our  wishes  are  presen- 
timents of  our  capabilities ; "  that  is  a  noble  saying,  of 
deep  encouragement  to  all  true  men,  applicable  to  our 
wishes  and  efforts  in  regard  to  reading  as  to  other  things. 

Among  all  the  objects  that  look  wonderful  and  beau- 
tiful to  you,  follow  with  fresh  hope  the  one  which  looks 
wonderfullest,  beautifullest.  You  will  gradually  find,  by 
various  trials  (which  trials  see  that  you  make  honest, 
manful  ones,  not  silly,  short,  fitful  ones),  what  is  for  you 


100       READINGS    FOR    YOUNG   MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

the  wonderfullest,  beautifullest — what  is  your  true  ele- 
ment and  province,  and  be  able  to  profit  by  that.  True 
desire,  the  monition  of  nature,  is  much  to  be  attended  to. 
But  here,  also,  you  are  to  discriminate  carefully  between 
true  desire  and  false.  The  medical  men  tell  us  we  should 
eat  what  we  truly  have  an  appetite  for ;  but  what  we  only 
falsely  have  an  appetite  for,  we  should  resolutely  avoid. 
It  is  very  true ;  and  flimsy  desultory  readers,  who  fly 
from  foolish  book  to  foolish  book,  and  get  good  of  none, 
and  mischief  of  all — are  not  these  as  foolish,  unhealthy 
eaters,  who  mistake  their  superficial  false  desire  after 
spiceries  and  confectioneries  for  their  real  appetite,  of 
which  even  they  are  not  destitute,  though  it  lies  far 
deeper,  far  quieter,  after  solid  nutritive  food  ?  With 
these  illustrations,  I  will  recommend  Johnson's  advice  to 
you. 

Another  thing,  and  only  one  other,  I  will  say.  All 
books  are  properly  the  record  of  the  history  of  past  men 
— what  thoughts  past  men  had  in  them — what  actions 
past  men  did ;  the  summary  of  all  books  whatsoever  lies 
there.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  the  class  of  books  speci- 
fically named  History  can  be  safely  recommended  as  the 
basis  of  all  study  of  books,  the  preliminary  to  all  right 
and  full  understanding  of  any  thing  we  can  expect  to  find 
in  books.  Past  history,  and  especially  the  past  history 
of  one's  own  native  country,  everybody  may  be  advised 
to  begin  with  that.  Let  him  study  that  faithfully  ;  innu- 
merable inquiries  will  branch  out  from  it ;  he  has  a  broad 
beaten  highway,  from  which  all  the  country  is  more  or 
less  visible  ;  there  travelling,  let  him  choose  where  he 
will  dwell. 


AND    MEN    OP   BUSINESS.  101 

Neither  let  mistakes  and  wrong  directions — of  which 
every  man,  in  his  studies  and  elsewhere,  falls  into  many 
— discourage  you.  There  is  precious  instruction  to  be 
got  by  finding  that  we  are  wrong.  Let  a  man  try  faith- 
fully, manfully,  to  be  right,  he  will  grow  daily  more  and 
more  right.  It  is,  at  bottom,  the  condition  on  which  all 
men  have  to  cultivate  themselves.  Our  very  walking  is 
an  incessant  falling — a  falling  and  a  catching  of  ourselves 
before  we  come  actually  to  the  pavement ! — it  is  emble- 
matic of  all  things  a  man  does. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  remind  you  that  it  is  not  books 
alone,  or  by  books  chiefly,  that  a  man  becomes  in  all 
points  a  man.  Study  to  do  faithfully  whatsoever  thing 
in  your  actual  situation,  there  and  now,  you  find  either 
expressly  or  tacitly  laid  to  your  charge ;  that  is  your 
post ;  stand  in  it  like  a  true  soldier.  Silently  devour  the 
many  chagrins  of  it,  as  all  human  situations  have  many; 
and  see  you  aim  not  to  quit  it  without  doing  all  that  it, 
at  least,  required  of  you.  A  man  perfects  himself  by 
work  much  more  than  by  reading.  They  are  a  growing 
kind  of  men  that  can  wisely  combine  the  two  things — 
wisely,  valiantly,  can  do  what  is  laid  to  their  hand  in 
their  present  sphere,  and  prepare  themselves  withal  for 
doing  other  wider  things,  if  such  lie  before  them. 

With  many  good  wishes  and  encouragements,  I  re- 
main, yours  sincerely, 

THOMAS  CARLYLE. 
Chelsea,  15th  March,  1843. 


102   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


RULES  OF  McDONOGH  THE  MILLIONNAIRE  OF 
NEW  ORLEANS. 

MR.  JOHN  McDoNOGH,  the  millionnaire  of  New  Or- 
leans, has  engraved  upon  his  tomb  a  series  of  maxims, 
which  he  had  prescribed  as  the  rules  for  his  guidance 
through  life,  and  to  which  his  success  in  business  is 
mainly  attributable.  These  rules  would  undoubtedly  se- 
cure riches  and  honour ;  and  as  a  whole  are  worthy  of 
being  accepted. 

"Remember  always  that  labour  is  one  of  the  con- 
ditions of  our  existence.  Time  is  gold ;  throw  not  one 
minute  away,  but  place  each  one  to  account.  Do  unto 
all  men  as  you  would  be  done  by.  Never  put  off  till  to- 
morrow what  you  can  do  to-day.  Never  bid  another  to 
do  what  you  can  do  yourself.  Never  covet  what  is  not 
your  own.  Never  think  any  matter  so  trifling  as  not 
to  deserve  notice.  Never  give  out  that  which  does  not 
first  come  in.  Never  spend  but  to  produce.  Let  the 
greatest  order  regulate  the  transactions  of  your  life. 
Study  in  your  course  of  life  to  do  the  greatest  amount 
of  good.  Deprive  yourself  of  nothing  necessary  to  your 
comfort,  but  live  in  an  honorable  simplicity  and  frugality. 
Labour,  then,  to  the  last  moment  of  your  existence. 

"  Pursue  strictly  the  above  rules,  and  the  Divine 
blessing,  and  riches  of  every  kind,  will  flow  upon  you 
to  your  heart's  content ;  but,  first  of  all,  remember  that 
the  chief  and  great  study  of  our  life  should  be  to  tend, 
by  all  means  in  our  power,  to  the  honour  and  glory  of 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  103 

our  Divine  Creator.  The  conclusion  to  which  I  have 
arrived  is,  that,  without  temperance,  there  is  no  health  ; 
without  virtue,  no  order ;  without  religion,  no  happiness  ; 
and  that  the  aim  of  our  being  is  to  live  wisely,  soberly, 
and  righteously." 

To  the  above  maxims  of  McDonogh  we  would  add 
one  more,  which  comes  to  us  opportunely  in  the  columns 
of  the  Philadelphia  Daily  Reporter.  It  is  a  rule  of 
rules — the  complement  of  all  the  rest — the  keystone  of 
the  arch  of  mercantile  character.  For  what  most  men 
lack  is  not  rules,  but  the  energy  to  apply  them  at  the 
right  moment ;  not  moral  principles,  but  moral  presence 
of  mind — and  this  is  Self-Possession,  Self-Reliance. 
""Woe  unto  him  that  is  faint-hearted,"  says  the  son  of 
Sirach. 

"  We  have  just  received  the  following  letter,"  says  the 
Reporter,  "from  one  of  Philadelphia's  best  and  noblest 
merchants." 

The  letter  is  as  follows  : — 

"  I  send  you  the  extract  I  spoke  of  a  few  days  since. 
It  contains  more  real  truth  of  what  my  long  experience 
has  been  in  the  great  battle  of  life  (having  commenced 
at  the  first  round  of  the  ladder),  than  any  article  I  have 
ever  seen  in  print ;  and  I  do  hope  that  every  newspaper 
in  our  country  will  republish  it,  for  the  benefit  of  all 
young  men  who  are  about  commencing  business,  and 
who  are  now  in  business,  for  it  will  do  much  good  if  they 
will  be  governed  by  its  precepts. 

"The  extract  referred  to  appeared  originally  in  the 
Richmond  Post,  and  is  as  follows :  '  When  a  crisis  be- 
falls you,  and  the  emergency  requires  moral  courage  and 


104    READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

noble  manhood  to  meet  it,  be  equal  to  the  requirements 
of  the  moment,  and  rise  superior  to  the  obstacles  in  your 
path.  The  universal  testimony  of  men  whose  experi- 
ence exactly  coincides  with  yours,  furnishes  the  consoling 
reflection  that  difficulties  may  be  ended  by  opposition. 
There  is  no  blessing  equal  to  the  possession  of  a  stout 
heart.  The  magnitude  of  the  danger  needs  nothing 
more  than  a  greater  effort  than  ever  at  your  hands. 
If  you  prove  recreant  in  the  hour  of  trial,  you  are  the 
worst  of  recreants,  and  deserve  no  compassion.  Be  not 
dismayed  or  unmanned  when  you  should  be  bold  and 
daring,  unflinching  and  resolute.  The  cloud,  whose 
threatening  murmurs  you  hear  with  fear  and  dread,  is 
pregnant  with  blessings  ;  and  the  frown,  whose  stern- 
ness now  makes  you  tremble  and  shudder,  will  erelong 
be  succeeded  by  a  smile  of  bewitching  sweetness  and 
benignity.  Then  be  strong  and  manly,  oppose  equal 
forces  to  open  difficulties,  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip,  and 
trust  in  Providence.  Greatness  can  only  be  achieved 
by  those  who  are  tried.  The  condition  of  that  achieve- 
ment is  confidence  in  one's  self.'" 

We  certainly  do  not  often  meet  with  a  piece  of  better 
sentiment,  or  sounder  morality.  This  confidence  in  one's 
self,  in  a  world  where  every  man  appears  to  be  striving 
against  his  fellow,  is  as  necessary  to  a  successful  career 
as  is  breath  to  physical  existence.  Or  it  may  be  likened 
to  the  healthful  action  of  the  heart,  whose  steady  pulsa- 
tions direct  and  keep  in  harmony  every  movement  of  the 
animal  economy.  This  once  lost,  and  the  consequences 
are  as  calamitous  as  those  that  follow  any  disorder  of  the 
great  human  engine.  In  order  to  maintain  intact  this 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  105 

self-confidence,  one  must  respect  himself,  which  can  only 
be  done  by  pursuing  a  uniform  life  of  honour  and  integrity. 
There  are  those  who  quail  and  shudder  before  every 
breath  of  adverse  fortune.  Their  timidity  is  their  stum- 
bling block,  if  not  their  ruin  ;  while  they  have'the  addi- 
tional mortification  of  witnessing  the  rapid  advance  and 
ultimate  success  of  those  who,  commencing  life  with 
themselves,  have  placed  and  retained  self-confidence  at 
the  helm  of  their  adventurous  bark.  The  writer  of  the 
letter  inclosing  us  this  extract  is  a  most  admirable  speci- 
men of  the  results  of  this  sound  philosophy ;  and  the 
eminent  position  he  now  occupies  in  the  affection  and 
respect  of  the  community,  and,  indeed,  of  the  country, 
must  be  abundant  reward  for  the  trials  and  difficulties 
he  so  nobly  battled  in  his  earlier  career. 


THE   GOOD  MERCHANT. 
Drawn  from  Life. 

THE  good  merchant  is  scrupulously  just  and  upright 
in  all  his  transactions.  Integrity,  good  faith,  exact- 
ness in  fulfilling  his  engagements,  are  prominent  and 
distinctive  features  in  his  character.  He  is  a  high- 
minded  and  honourable  man  ;  he  would  feel  a  stain  upon 
his  good  name  lik.e  a  wound,  and  regards  with  utter  ab- 
horrence every  thing  that  wears  the  appearance  of  mean- 
ness or  duplicity.  Knowing  that  credit  is  the  soul  of 


106       READINGS   FOR   YOUNG   MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

business,  he  is  anxious  to  sustain  the  integrity  of  the 
mercantile  character.  Accordingly  his  word  is  as  good 
as  his  bond.  He  stands  to  his  bargain,  and  is  faithful  to 
his  contract.  He  is  like  the  good  man  described  by  the 
Psalmist^— 

"  Who  to  his  plighted  vows  and  trust 

Hath  ever  firmly  stood ; 
And  though  he  promise  to  his  loss, 
He  makes  his  promise  good." 

He  would  rather  at  any  time  relinquish  something  of  his 
lawful  rights  than  engage  in  an  irritating  dispute.  He 
would  rather  be  the  object  than  the  agent  in  a  dishonour- 
able or  fraudulent  transaction.  When  one  told  old  Bishop 
Latimer  that  the  cutler  had  cozened  him  in  making  him 
pay  twopence  for  a  knife  not  worth  a  penny,  "  No,"  said 
Latimer,  "  he  cozened  not  me,  but  his  own  conscience." 

The  good  merchant  is  not  in  haste  to  be  rich,  observing 
that  they  who  are  so  are  apt  to  "  fall  into  temptation  and 
a  snare,"  and  often  make  shipwreck  of  their  honour  and 
virtue.  He  pursues  commerce  as  his  chosen  calling,  his 
regular  employment.  He  expects  to  continue  in  it  long, 
perhaps  all  his  days,  and  is  therefore  content  to  make 
small  profits,  and  accumulate  slowly.  When  he  first  en- 
tered into  business,  he  was  determined  not  to  be  a  drudge, 
nor  be  chained  to  the  desk  like  a  galley-slave,  nor  make 
his  counting-room  his  home.  He  recollects  that  he  is 
not  merely  a  merchant  but  a  man,  and  that  he  has  a 
mind  to  improve,  a  heart  to  cultivate,  and  a  character  to 
form.  He  is  therefore  resolved  to  have  time  to  develop 
and  store  his  intellect,  to  exercise  his  social  affections, 
and  to  enjoy,  in  moderation,  the  innocent  and  rational 


AND    MEX    OF   BUSINESS.  107 

pleasures  of  life.  He  accordingly  sets  apart  and  conse- 
crates a  portion  of  his  time,  his  evenings  at  least,  to  be 
spent  at  home  in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  He  will  not, 
on  any  account,  deny  himself  this  relaxation ;  he  will  not, 
for  any  consideration,  rob  himself  of  this  source  of  im- 
provement and  happiness.  He  is  willing,  if  need  be,  to 
labour  more  years  in  order  to  obtain  the  desired  amount 
of  wealth,  provided  he  can  improve  himself  in  the  mean 
tune,  and  enjoy  h'fe  as  he  goes  along. 

The  good  merchant,  though  an  enterprising  man,  and 
willing  to  run  some  risks,  knowing  this  to  be  essential  to 
success  in  commercial  adventure,  yet  is  not  willing  to 
risk  every  thing,  nor  put  all  on  the  hazard  of  a  single 
throw.  He  feels  that  he  has  no  right  to  do  this,  that  it 
is  morally  wrong  thus  to  put  in  jeopardy  his  own  peace 
and  the  comfort  and  prospects  of  his  family.  Of  course, 
he  engages  in  no  wild  and  visionary  schemes,  the  results 
of  which  are  altogether  uncertain,  being  based  upon 
unreasonable  expectations  and  improbable  suppositions. 
He  is  particularly  careful  to  embark  in  no  speculation 
out  of  his  regular  line  of  business,  and  with  the  details 
of  which  he  is  not  familiar.  He  is  aware  that,  although 
he  knows  all  about  the  cost  of  a  ship,  and  can  determine 
the  quality  and  estimate  the  value  of  a  bale  of  cotton,  he 
is  not  a  good  judge  of  the  worth  of  wild  lands,  having 
had  no  experience  therein.  Accordingly  he  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  any  bargains  of  this  sort,  however 
promising"  they  may  appear.  He  will  not  take  a  leap  in 
the  dark,  nor  purchase  upon  the  representations  of  others 
who  may  be  interested  in  the  sale ;  fearing  lest  what  is 
described  to  him  as  a  well-timbered  township,  may  turn 


108       READINGS   FOR   YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

out  to  be  a  barren  waste,  and  what  appears  on  paper  a 
level  and  well-watered  district,  may  be  found,  on  inspec- 
tion, a  steep  and  stony  mountain,  of  no  value  whatever. 
He  therefore  deems  it  safest  for  him  to  keep  clear  of 
these  grand  speculations,  and  to  attend  quietly  and  regu- 
larly to  his  own  business.  Above  all,  he  makes  it  a 
matter  of  conscience  not  to  risk,  in  hazardous  enterprises, 
the  property  of  others  intrusted  to  his  keeping. 

The  good  merchant  having  thus  acquired  a  compe- 
tency, and  perhaps  amassed  a  fortune,  is  liberal  in  dis- 
pensing his  wealth. 

At  the  outset  he  is  careful  to  indulge  in  no  extrava- 
gance, and  to  live  within  his  means,  the  neglect  of  which 
precaution  he  finds  involves  so  many  in  failure  and  ruin. 
Simple  in  his  manners  and  unostentatious  in  his  habits  of 
life,  he  abstains  from  all  frivolous  and  foolish  expendi- 
tures. At  the  same  time,  he  is  not  niggardly  or  mean. 
On  the  contrary,  he  is  liberal  in  the  whole  arrangement 
of  his  household,  where  every  thing  is  for  use  and  com- 
fort, and  nothing  for  ostentation  or  display.  Whatever 
will  contribute  to  the  improvement  and  welfare  of  his 
family,  or  whatever  will  gratify  their  innocent  tastes,  be 
it  books  or  pictures,  he  obtains,  if  within  his  means, 
though  it  cost  much,  knowing  that  at^the  same  time  he 
may  foster  the  genius  and  reward  the  labours  of  our 
native  authors  and  artists,  an  estimable  class  of  men, 
whose  works  reflect  honour  upon  their  country,  and  who 
consequently  merit  the  patronage  of  the  community.  But 
whatever  is  intended  for  mere  parade  and  vain  show,  he 
will  have  none  of,  though  it  cost  nothing.  He  thinks  it 
wise  and  good  economy  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  money, 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  109 

if  he  can  afford  it,  to  render  home  attractive,  and  to  make 
his  children  wise,  virtuous,  and  happy.  Above  all,  he 
never  grudges  what  is  paid  to  the  faithful  schoolmaster 
for  their  intellectual  and  moral  training ;  for  a  good 
education  he  deems  above  all  price. 

Having  thus  liberally  provided  for  all  the  wants  of  his 
household,  the  good  merchant  remembers  and  cares  for 
all  who  are  related  to  him,  and  who  may  in  any  way 
stand  in  need  of  his  aid.  And  this  aid  is  administered 
in  the  most  kind  and  delicate  manner.  He  does  not 
wait  to  be  solicited ;  he  will  not  stop  to  be  thanked ;  he 
anticipates  their  wishes,  and  by  a  secret  and  silent  bounty 
removes  the  painful  sense  of  dependence  and  obligation  ; 
he  feels  it  a  pleasure  as  well  as  a  duty  to  help  them  ;  he 
claims  it  as  his  privilege  to  do  good  unto  his  brethren ; 
he  would  feel  ashamed  to  have  his  needy  relatives  re- 
lieved by  public  charity  or  private  alms. 

But  our  good  merchant  feels  that  he  has  duties,  not 
only  to  his  immediate  relatives  and  friends,  but  to  a 
larger  family — the  community  in  which  he  lives.  He  is 
deeply  interested  in  its  virtue  and  happiness,  and  feels 
bound  to  contribute  his  full  share  to  the  establishment 
and  support  of  all  good  institutions,  particularly  the  insti- 
tutions of  learning,  humanity,  and  religion.  He  is  led  to 
this  by  the  expansive  and  liberalizing  spirit  of  his  calling. 
It  is  unfortunately  the  tendency  of  some  occupations  to 
narrow  the  mind  and  contract  the  heart.  The  mere 
division  of  labour,  incident  to,  and  inseparable  from, 
many  mechanical  and  manufacturing  pursuits,  though 
important  and  beneficial  in  other  respects,  yet  serves  to 
dwarf  and  cramp  the  intellect.  The  man  who  spends  all 


110   READINGS  FOR  TOUXG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

his  days  in  making  the  heads  of  pins,  thinks  of  nothing 
else,  and  is  fit  for  nothing  else.  Commercial  pursuits, 
on  the  other  hand,  being  so  various,  extensive,  and  com- 
plicate, tend  to  enlarge  the  mind,  and  banish  narrow  and 
selfish  feelings.  The  merchant  looks  abroad  over  the 
world,  puts  a  girdle  round  the  earth,  has  communication 
with  all  climes  and  nations,  and  is  thus  led  to  take  large 
and  liberal  views  of  all  things.  The  wealth  which  he  has 
acquired  easily  and  rapidly,  he  is  consequently  disposed 
to  spend  freely  and  munificently.  It  has  been  beautifully 
said  of  Roscoe,  the  distinguished  Liverpool  merchant, 
"Wherever  you  go,  you  perceive  traces  of  his  footsteps 
in  all  that  is  elegant  and  liberal.  He  found  the  tide  of 
wealth  flowing  merely  in  the  channels  of  traffic  ;  he  has 
diverted  from  it  invigorating  rills  to  refresh  the  gardens 
of  literature.  The  noble  institutions  for  literary  and 
scientific  purposes,  which  reflect  snch  credit  on  that  city, 
have  mostly  been  originated,  and  have  all  been  effectu- 
ally promoted,  by  him."  In  like  manner,  our  good  mer- 
chant encourages  learning,  and  patronizes  learned  men. 
He  is  particularly  liberal  in  endowing  the  higher  seats 
of  education,  whence  flow  the  streams  that  make  glad  the 
cities  and  churches  of  our  God. 

Such  we  conceive  to  be  the  character  of  the  good 
merchant.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  thought  by  some,  that 
the  character  is  a  visionary  one ;  and  that,  amid  the 
competitions  of  trade,  the  temptations  to  unlawful  gain, 
the  eager  desire  of  accumulating,  and  the  natural  un- 
willingness to  part  with  what  has  been  acquired  \vith 
much  labour  and  pains,  there  can  be  no  place  for  the 
high-minded  and  generous  virtues  which  we  have  de- 


AND   MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  Ill 

scribed.  We  might  have  thought  so,  too,  if  we  had 
never  seen  them  exhibited  in  actual  life.  The  portrait 
which  we  have  attempted  to  draw  is  not  a  fancy  sketch, 
but  a  transcript  from  nature  and  reality. 


MITCH  WISDOM  IN  LITTLE. 

KEEP  good  company  or  none.  Never  be  idle.  If 
your  hands  cannot  be  usefully  employed,  attend  to  the 
cultivation  of  your  mind.  Always  speak  the  truth. 
Make  few  promises.  Live  up  to  your  engagements. 
Keep  your  own  secrets  if  you  have  any.  When  you 
speak  to  a  person  look  him  in  the  face.  Good  company 
and  good  conversation  are  the  very  sinews  of  virtue. 
Good  character  is  above  all  things  else.  Your  character 
cannot  be  essentiaUy  injured  except  by  your  own  acts. 
If  any  one  speaks  ill  of  you,  let  your  life  be  so  that  none 
will  believe  him.  Drink  no  kind  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
Ever  live,  misfortune  excepted,  within  your  income. 
When  you  retire  to  bed,  think  over  what  you  have  been 
doing  during  the  day.  Make  no  haste  to  be  rich  if  you 
would  prosper.  Small  and  steady  gains  give  competency 
with  tranquillity  of  mind.  Never  play  at  any  game  of 
chance.  Earn  money  before  you  spend  it.  Never  run 
in  debt  uifless  you  see  a  clear  way  to  get  out  of  it  again. 
Never  borrow  if  you  can  possibly  avoid  it.  Do  not 
marry  until  you  are  able  to  support  a  wife.  Never 
speak  ill  of  any  one. 


112   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


THE  RIGHT  MAN   FOR  BUSINESS. 

GIVE  us  the  straightforward,  fearless,  enterprising  man 
for  business.  One  who  is  worth  a  dozen  of  those  who, 
when  any  thing  is  to  be  done,  stop,  falter,  and  hesitate, 
and  are  never  ready  to  take  a  decided  stand.  One  turns 
every  thing  within  his  reach  into  gold — the  other  tar- 
nishes even  what  is  bright ;  the  one  will  succeed  in  life, 
and  no  adventitious  circumstances  will  hinder  him — the 
other  will  be  a  continual  drawling  moth,  never  rising 
above  mediocrity,  but  rather  falling  below. 

Make  up  your  mind  to  be  firm,  resolute,  and  indus- 
trious, if  you  desire  prosperity.  There  is  good  in  that 
saying  of  the  apostle,  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to 
do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might." 


GETTING   ON  IN  THE  WORLD. 

THERE  are  different  ways  of  getting  on  in  the  world. 
It  does  not  always  mean  making  a  deal  of  money,  or 
being  a  great  man  for  people  to  look  up  to  with  wonder. 
Leaving  off  a  bad  habit  for  a  good  one,  is  getting  on  in 
the  world ;  to  be  clean  and  tidy,  instead  of  dirty  and  dis- 
orderly, is  getting  on ;  to  be  careful  and  saving,  instead 
of  thoughtless  and  wasteful,  is  getting  on ;  to  be  active 
and  industrious,  instead  of  idle  and  lazy,  is  getting  on  ; 


AND    MEN   OP   BUSINESS.  113 

to  be  kind  and  forbearing,  instead  of  ill-natured  and  quar- 
relsome, is  getting  on  ;  to  work  as  diligently  in  the  mas- 
ter's absence  as  in  his  presence,  is  getting  on  ;  in  short, 
when  we  see  any  one  properly  attentive  to  his  duties, 
persevering,  through  difficulties,  to  gain  such  knowledge 
as  shall  be  of  use  to  himself  and  to  others,  offering  a 
good  example  to  his  relatives  and  acquaintances,  we  may 
be  sure  that  he  is  getting  on  in  the  world.  Money  is  a 
very  useful  article  in  its  way,  but  it  is  possible  to  get  on 
with  but  small  means  ;  for  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  we  must  wait  for  a  good  deal  of  money  before  we 
can  do  any  thing.  Perseverance  is  often  better  than  a 
full  purse.  Many  people  lag  behind,  or  miss  the  way 
altogether,  because  they  do  not  see  the  simple  and  abun- 
dant means  which  surround  them  on  all  sides ;  and  it 
so  happens  that  these  means  are  aids  which  cannot  be 
bought  with  money.  Those  who  wish  to  get  on  in  the 
world  must  have  a  stock  of  patience  and  perseverance,  of 
hopeful  confidence,  a  willingness  to  learn,  and  a  disposi- 
tion not  easily  cast  down  by  difficulties  and  disappoint- 
ments. 


DEPEND   ON  YOURSELF. 

BAD  luck,  as  well  as  mischance  and  misfortune,  are 
all  the  daughters  of  misconduct,  and  sometimes  the  mother 
of  success,  prosperity,  and  advancement.  To  be  thrown 
on  one's  resources,  is  to  be  cast  into  the  very  lap  of  for- 
tune. Had  Franklin  entered  Philadelphia  with  a  thou- 
8 


114   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

sand  dollars  in  his  pocket,  instead  of  one  shilling  and 
ninepence,  as  he  did,  in  all  probability  he  would  have 
gone  on  a  "  spree "  instead  of  hunting  up  employment, 
and  died  at  thirty-five  from  driving  tandem-teams  and 
drinking  brandy-smashers,  instead  of  living  to  the  green 
old  age  of  eighty,  and  dying  a  philosopher,  whose  amuse- 
ment was  the  taming  of  the  thunderbolts,  and  bottling  of 
lightning.  Had  Napoleon's  father  been  the  owner  of  a 
princely  estate,  his  son  would  have  never  got  to  be  em- 
peror. A  good  kick  out  of  doors  is  better  than  all  the 
rich  uncles  in  the  world.  One  never  tries  to  swim  so 
hard  as  when  he  has  to  do  it  or  drown.  To  be  a  rich 
man's  son  is  the  greatest  misfortune  that  can  befall  a 
young  man,  mentally  speaking.-  Who  fill  our  offices? 
Not  the  children  of  the  rich,  or  the  sons  of  the  opulent. 


PASTE  THIS  UP  IN  YOUR  MIND. 

LET  you  be  ever  so  pure,  you  cannot  associate  with 
bad  companions  without  falling  into  bad  odour.  Evil 
company  is  like  tobacco-smoke — you  cannot  be  long  in 
its  presence  without  carrying  away  a  taint  of  it. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  115 


BUSINESS  FIRST,  THEN  PLEASURE. 

A  MAN  who  is  very  rich  now,  was  very  poor  when  h^ 
was  a  boy.  When  asked  how  he  got  his  riches,  he  re- 
plied, "  My  father  taught  me  never  to  play  till  all  my 
work  for  the  day  was  finished,  and  never  spend  my  money 
till  I  had  earned  it.  If  I  had  but  half  an  hour's  work  to 
do  in  a  day,  I  must  do  that  the  first  thing,  and  in  half  an 
hour.  After  this  was  done,  I  was  then  allowed  to  play  ; 
and  I  could  then  play  with  much  more  pleasure  than  if  I 
had  the  thought  of  an  unfinished  task  before  my  mind. 
I  early  formed  the  habit  of  doing  every  thing  in  its  time, 
and  it  soon  became  perfectly  easy  to  do  so.  It  is  to  this 
habit  that  I  now  owe  my  present  prosperity."  Let  every 
young  man  who  reads  this  go  and  do  likewise,  and  he  will 
meet  with  a  similar  reward. 


CHOICE   OF  FRIENDS. 

WE  should  ever  have  it  fixed  in  our  memories,  that  by 
the  character  of  those  whom  we  choose  for  our  friends, 
our  own  is  likely  to  be  formed,  and  will  certainly  be 
judged  of  by  the  world.  We  ought,  therefore,  to  be 
slow  and  cautious  in  contracting  intimacy ;  but,  when  a 
virtuous  friendship  is  once  established,  we  must  ever  con- 
sider it  as  a  sacred  engagement. 


116   READINGS  FOR  TOUXG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


EASY  WAY   OF   GAINING  OR  LOSING  FIVE 
YEARS   OF  LIFE. 

EARLY  rising  has  been  often  extolled,  and  extolled  in 
vain ;  for  people  think  that  an  hour's  additional  sleep  is 
very  comfortable,  and  can  make  very  little  difference 
after  all.  But  an  hour  gained  or  wasted  every  day, 
makes  a  great  difference  in  the  length  of  our  lives,  which 
we  may  see  by  a  very  simple  calculation : — 

First,  we  will  say  that  the  average  of  mankind  spend 
sixteen  hours  of  every  twenty-four  hours  awake  and 
employed,  and  eight  in  bed.  Now,  each  year  having 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  if  a  diligent  person 
abstract  from  sleep  one  hour  daily,  he  lengthens  his 
years  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  hours,  or  twenty- 
three  days  of  sixteen  hours  each,  the  length  of  a  waking 
day,  which  is  what  we  call  a  day  in  these  calculations. 

"We  will  take  a  period  of  forty  years,  and  see  how  it 
may  be  decreased  or  added  to  by  sloth  or  energy.  A 
person  sleeping  eight  hours  a  day  has  his  full  average  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in  the  year,  and  may 
therefore  be  said  to  enjoy  complete  his  forty  years.  Let 
him  take  nine  hours  sleep,  and  his  year  has  but  three 
hundred  and  forty-two  days,  so  that  he  lives  only  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  years  ;  with  ten  hours  in  bed,  he  has 
three  hundred  and  nineteen  days,  and  his  life  is  thirty- 
five  years ;  in  like  manner,  if  the  sleep  is  limited  to 
seven  hours,  our  year  has  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  days,  and,  instead  of  forty,  we  live  forty-two  and  a 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  117 

half  years ;  and  if  six  hours  is  our  allowance  of  slumber, 
we  have  four  hundred  and  eleven  days  in  the  year,  and 
live  forty-five  years. 

By  this  we  see  that,  in  forty  years,  two  hours  daily 
occasion  either  a  loss  or  gain  of  FIVE  YEARS.  How 
much  might  be  done  in  this  space  ?  What  would  we  not 
give  at  the  close  of  life  for  another  lease  of  five  years  ? 
And  how  bitter  the  reflection  would  be  at  such  a  time,  if 
we  reflect  at  all,  that  we  have  wilfully  given  up  this  por- 
tion of  our  existence  merely  that  we  might  lie  a  little 
longer  in  bed  in  the  morning. 


MAKE   A  BEGINNING. 

REMEMBER  in  all  things  that,  if  you  do  not  begin,  you 
will  never  come  to  an  end.  The  first  weed  pulled  up  in 
the  garden,  the  first  seed  put  in  the  ground,  the  first 
shilling  put  in  the  savings  bank,  and  the  first  mile 
travelled  on  a  journey,  are  all  very  important  things. 
They  make  a  beginning,  and  thereby  a  hope,  a  promise, 
a  pledge,  an  assurance,  that  you  are  in  earnest  with  what 
you  have  undertaken.  How  many  a  poor,  idle,  erring, 
hesitating  outcast,  is  now  creeping  and  crawling  his  way 
through  the  world,  who  might  have  held  up  his  head  and 
prospered,  if,  instead  of  putting  off"  his  resolutions  of 
amendment  and  industry,  he  had  only  made  a  beginning ! 


118       READINGS    FOR   YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 


HINTS. 

Do  not  be  discouraged  if,  in  the  outset  of  life,  things 
do  not  go  on  smoothly.  It  seldom  happens  that  the 
hopes  we  cherish  for  the  future  are  realized.  The  path 
of  life  appears  smooth  and  level ;  but  when  we  come  to 
travel  it,  we  find  it  all  uphill,  and  generally  rough  enough. 
The  journey  is  a  laborious  one ;  and  whether  poor  or 
wealthy,  high  or  low,  we  shall  find  it,  to  our  disappoint- 
ment, if  we  have  built  on  any  other  calculation.  To  en- 
dure it  with  as  much  cheerfulness  as  possible,  and  to 
elbow  our  way  through  the  great  crowd,  hoping  for  little, 
yet  striving  for  much,  is  perhaps  the  best  plan.  Do  not 
be  discouraged  if  occasionally  you  slip  down  by  the  way, 
and  your  neighbour  treads  over  you  a  little ;  or,  in  other 
words,  do  not  let  a  failure  or  two  dishearten  you.  Acci- 
dents will  happen,  miscalculations  will  sometimes  be  made, 
things  turn  out  differently  from  our  expectations,  and  we 
may  be  sufferers.  It  is  worth  while  to  remember,  that 
fortune  is  like  the  skies  in  April,  sometimes  clear  and 
favourable  ;  and  as  it  would  be  folly  to  despair  of  again 
seeing  the  sun  because  to-day  is  stormy,  so  it  is  unwise 
to  sink  into  despondency  when  fortune  frowns,  since,  in 
the  common  course  of  things,  she  may  surely  be  expected 
to  smile  and  smile  again.  Do  not  be  discouraged  if  you 
are  deceived  in  the  people  of  the  world  ;  they  are  rotten 
at  the  core.  From  such  sources  as  these  you  may  be 
most  unexpectedly  deceived,  and  you  will  naturally  feel 
sore  under  such  deceptions;  but  to  these  you  may 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  119 

become  used.  If  you  fare  as  other  people  do,  they  will 
lose  their  novelty  before  you  grow  gray,  and  you  will 
learn  to  trust  more  cautiously,  and  examine  their  char- 
acter closely,  before  you  allow  great  opportunities  to 
injure  you.  Do  not  be  discouraged  under  any  circum- 
stances. Go  steadily  forward.  Rather  consult  your  own 
conscience  than  the  opinion  of  men,  though  the  latter  is 
not  to  be  disregarded.  Be  industrious,  be  sober,  be  hon- 
est ;  dealing  in  perfect  kindness  with  all  who  come  in 
your  way,  exercising  a  neighbourly  and  obliging  spirit 
in  all  your  intercourse ;  and,  if  you  do  not  prosper  as 
rapidly  now  as  some  of  your  neighbours,  depend  upon  it 
you  will  be  at  least  as  happy. 


INDUSTRY  AND  ITS  BLESSINGS. 

PEOPLE  may  tell  you  of  your  being  unfit  for  some 
peculiar  occupations  of  life ;  but  heed  them  not.  "What- 
ever employment  you  follow,  with  perseverance  and 
assiduity,  will  be  found  fit  for  you ;  it  will  be  your  sup- 
port in  youth,  and  your  comfort  in  age.  In  learning  the 
useful  part  of  any  profession,  very  moderate  abilities  will 
suffice ;  great  abilities  are  generally  injurious  to  the  pos- 
sessors. Life  has  been  compared  to  a  race ;  but  the 
allusion  still  improves  by  observing  that  the  most  swift 
are  ever  the  most  apt  to  stray  from  the  course. 


120   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


A  WHEELING  ARTICLE. 

GOING  to  dinner  the  other  day,  we  saw  a  little  codger, 
about  two  years  old,  sitting  on  a  wheelbarrow  and  trying 
to  wheel  himself.  It  struck  us  that  many  people  in  this 
world  are  often  caught  in  the  same  act ;  and  we  shall 
always  think  hereafter,  when  we  see  a  business  man 
trusting  every  thing  to  his  clerks,  and  continually  seeking 
his  own  amusement — always  absent  from  his  counting- 
house,  yet  expecting  to  get  along — he's  sitting  in  a 
wheelbarrow  and  trying  to  wheel  himself. 

When  we  see  a  professional  man  better  acquainted 
with  eveiy  thing  else  than  his  profession,  always  starting 
some  new  scheme,  and  never  attending  to  his  calling,  his 
wardrobe  and  credit  will  soon  designate  him  as  sitting  in 
a  wheelbarrow  and  trying  to  wheel  himself. 

When  we  see  a  farmer  with  an  overabundance  of 
"  hired  help,"  trusting  every  thing  to  their  management, 
his  fences  down,  implements  out  of  repair,  and  land  suf- 
fering from  want  of  proper  tillage — too  proud  or  too  lazy 
to  take  off  his  coat  and  go  to  work — he's  sitting  in  a 
wheelbarrow,  trying  to  wheel  himself. 


MAXIMS  FOR  GUIDANCE  THROUGH  LIFE. 

NEVER  affect  to  be  other  than  you  really  are — either 
richer  or  wiser.     Never  be  ashamed  to  say,  "  I  do  not 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  121 

know."  Men  will  then  believe  you  when  you  say,  "  I 
do  know."  Never  be  ashamed  to  say,  whether  as  ap- 
plied to  time  or  money,  "  I  cannot  afford  it ;  "  "  I  cannot 
afford  to  waste  an  hour  in  the  idleness  to  which  you  in- 
vite me — I  cannot  afford  the  guinea  you  ask  me  to  throw 
away."  Once  establish  yourself  and  your  mode  of  life 
as  what  they  really  are,  and  your  foot  is  on  solid  ground, 
whether  for  the  gradual  step  onward,  or  for  the  sudden 
spring  over  a  precipice.  From  these  maxims  let  me 
deduce  another — learn  to  say  "  No "  with  decision ; 
"  Yes  "  with  caution — "  No  "  with  decision  whenever  it 
meets  a  temptation  ;  "  Yes  "  with  caution  whenever  it 
implies  a  promise.  A  promise  once  given  is  a  bond  in- 
violable. A  man  is  already  of  consequence  in  the  world 
when  it  is  known  that  we  may  implicitly  rely  upon  him. 
I  have  frequently  seen  in  life  a  person  preferred  to  a 
long  list  of  applicants  for  some  important  charge,  which 
lifts  him  at  once  into  station  and  fortune,  merely  because 
he  has  this  reputation,  that  when  he  says  he  knows  a 
thing,  he  knows  it ;  and  when  he  says  he  will  do  a  thing, 
he  will  do  it. 


DIFFICULTIES. 

IT  is  weak  to  be  scared  at  difficulties,  seeing  that  they 
generally  diminish  as  they  are  approached,  and  oftentimes 
even  entirely  vanish.  No  man  can  tell  what  he  can  do 
till  he  tries.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  extent  of 


1.22    READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

human  powers ;  it  can  only  be  ascertained  by  experi- 
ment. What  has  been  accomplished  by  parties  and  by 
solitary  individuals  in  the  torrid  and  the  frozen  regions, 
under  circumstances  the  most  difficult  and  appalling, 
should  teach  us  that,  when  we  ought  to  attempt,  we 
should  not  despair.  The  reason  why  men  oftener  suc- 
ceed in  overcoming  uncommon  difficulties  than  ordinary 
ones,  is,  that  in  the  first  case  they  call  into  action  the 
whole  of  their  resources,  and  that  in  the  last  they  act 
upon  calculation,  and  generally  undercalculate.  Where 
there  is  no  retreat,  and  the  whole  energy  is  forward,  the 
chances  are  in  favour  of  success,  but  a  backward  look  is 
full  of  danger.  Confidence  of  success,  is  almost  success  ; 
and  obstacles  often  fall  of  themselves  before  a  determi- 
nation to  over  comethem.  There  is  something  in  resolu- 
tion which  has  an  influence  beyond  itself,  and  it  marches 
on  like  a  mighty  lordamon  gst  its  slaves ;  all  is  prostra- 
tion where  it  appears.  When  bent  on  good,  it  is  almost 
the  noblest  attribute  of  man ;  when  on  evil,  the  most 
dangerous.  It  is  by  habitual  resolution  that  men  succeed 
to  any  great  extent ;  impulses  are  not  sufficient.  What 
is  done  at  one  moment  is  undone  the  next ;  and  a  step 
forward  is  nothing  gained  unless  it  is  followed  up. 
"  What  is  difficulty  ?  "  says  a  popular  author.*  "  Only  a 
word  indicating  the  degree  of  strength  requisite  for  ac- 
complishing particular  objects ;  a  mere  notice  of  the 
necessity  for  exertion ;  a  bugbear  to  children  and  fools ; 
only  a  mere  stimulus  to  man !  " 

*  Samuel  Warren. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  123 


IT  WILL  NEVER  DO  TO  BE  IDLE. 

IT  is  the  odds  and  ends  of  our  time,  its  orts  and  offals 
laid  up,  as  they  usually  are,  in  corners  to  rot  and  stink 
there,  instead  of  being  used  out  as  they  should  be — these, 
I  say,  are  the  occasions  of  our  moral  unsoundness  and 
corruption.  A  dead  fly,  little  thing  as  it  is,  will  spoil  a 
whole  box  of  the  most  precious  ointment ;  and  idleness, 
if  it  be  once  suffered,  though  but  for  a  brief  while,  is 
sure,  by  the  communication  of  its  listless  quality,  to  clog 
and  cumber  the  clockwork  of  the  whole  day.  It  is  the 
ancient  enemy — the  old  man  of  the  Arabian  tales.  Once 
take  him  upon  your  shoulders,  and  he  is  not  shaken  off  so 
easily. 

I  had  a  notion  of  these  truths,  and  I  framed  my  plan 
after  their  rules.  I  resolved  that  every  minute  should 
be  occupied  by  thought,  word,  or  act,  or,  if  by  none  of 
these,  by  intention  ;  vacancy  was  my  only  outcast,  the 
scapegoat  of  my  proscription.  For  this,  my  purpose,  I 
required  a  certain  energy  of  will,  as  indeed  this  same 
energy  is  requisite  for  every  other  good  thing  of  every 
sort  or  kind ;  without  it  we  are  as  powerless  as  grubs, 
noisome  as  ditch  water,  vague,  loose,  and  unpredestinate 
as  the  clouds  above  our  heads.  However,  I  had  sufficient 
of  this  energy  to  serve  me  for  that  turn  ;  I  felt  the  excel- 
lence of  the  practice  ;  I  was  penetrated  with  it  through 
all  my  being ;  I  clung  to  it ;  I  cherished  it ;  I  made  a 
point  of  every  thing ;  I  was  active,  brisk,  and  animated 
(oh,  how  true  is  that  word !)  in  all  things  that  I  did,  even 


124   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

to  the  picking  up  of  a  glove  or  asking  the  time  of  day. 
If  I  ever  felt  the  approach,  the  first  approach,  of  the  in- 
sidious languor,  I  said  once  within  myself  in  the  next 
quarter  of  an  hour,  I  will  do  such  a  thing,  and,  presto,  it 
was  done,  and  much  more  than  that  into  the  bargain ; 
my  mind  was  set  in  motion,  my  spirits  stirred  and  quick- 
ened, and,  raised  to  their  proper  height.  I  watched  the 
cloud  and  dissipated  it  at  its  first  gathering,  as  well 
knowing  that,  if  it  could  grow  but  to  the  largeness  of  a 
man's  hand,  it  would  spread  out  everywhere,  and  darken 
my  whole  horizon.  Oh,  that  this  example  might  be  as 
profitable  to  others  as  the  practice  has  been  to  myself! 
How  rich  would  be  the  reward  of  this  book,  if  its  readers 
would  but  take  it  to  heart  in  this  one  article  ;  if  the 
simple  truths  that  it  here  speaks  could  prompt  them  to 
take  their  happiness  into  their  own  hands,  and  learn  the 
value  of  industry,  not  from  what  they  may  have  heard 
of  it,  but  because  they  have  themselves  tried  it  and  felt 
it!  In  the  first  place,  its  direct  and  immediate  value, 
inasmuch  as  it  quickens  and  cheers  and  gladdens  every 
moment  that  it  occupies,  and  keeps  off  the  evil  one  by 
repelling  him  at  the  outposts,  instead  of  admitting  him  to 
a  doubtful,  perhaps  a  deadly,  struggle  in  the  citadel ;  and 
again  its  more  remote,  but  no  less  certain  value,  as  the 
mother  of  many  virtues,  when  it  has  once  grown  into  the 
temper  of  the  mind;  and  the  nursing-mother  of  many 
more.  And  if  we  gain  so  much  by  its  entertainment, 
how  much  more  must  we  not  lose  by  its  neglect  ?  Our 
vexations  are  annoying  to  us,  the  disappointments  of  life 
are  grievous,  its  calamities  deplorable,  its  indulgences  and 
lusts  sinful ;  but  our  idleness  is  worse  than  all  these,  and 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  125 

more  painful,  and  more  hateful,  and,  in  the  amount  of  its 
consequences,  if  not  in  its  very  essence,  more  sinful  than 
even  sin  itself — just  as  the  stock  is  more  fruitful  than 
any  branch  that  springs  from  it.  In  fine,  do  what  you 
will,  only  do  something,  and  that  actively  and  energeti- 
cally. Read,  converse,  sport,  think,  or  study — the  whole 
range  is  open  to  you,  only  let  your  mind  be  full,  and  then 
you  will  want  little  or  nothing  to  fulfil  your  happiness. 


WHAT  IS   LUCK? 

THERE  is  a  great  deal  which  passes  for  luck  which  is 
not  such.  Generally  speaking,  your  "  lucky  fellows," 
when  one  searches  closely  into  their  history,  turn  out  to 
be  your  fellows  that  know  what  they  are  doing,  and  how 
to  do  it  in  the  right  way.  Their  luck  comes  to  them 
because  they  work  for  it ;  it  is  luck  well  earned.  They 
put  themselves  in  the  way  of  luck.  They  keep  them- 
selves wide  awake.  They  make  the  best  of  what  oppor- 
tunities they  possess,  and  always  stand  ready  for  more ; 
and  when  a  mechanic  does  this  much,  depend  on  it,  it 
must  be  hard  luck,  indeed,  if  he  do  not  get  at  least  em- 
ployers, customers,  and  friends.  "  One  needs  only,"  says 
an  American  writer,  "  to  turn  to  the  lives  of  men  of 
mechanical  genius  to  see  how,  by  taking  advantage  of 
little  things  and  facts  which  no  one  had  observed,  or 
which  every  one  had  thought  unworthy  of  regard,  they 
have  established  new  and  important  principles  in  the 


126   READINGS  FOE  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

arts,  and  built  up  for  themselves  manufactories  for  the 
practice  of  their  newly-discovered  processes."  And  yet 
these  are  the  men  who  are  called  the  lucky  fellows,  and 
sometimes  envied  as  such.  Who  can  deny  that  their 
luck  is  well  earned ;  or  that  it  was  just  as  much  in  my 
power  to  "  go  ahead,"  as  the  Yankees  say,  as  it  was  in 
theirs  ? 


POLONIUS'S   ADVICE  TO   HIS  SON. 

"  Give  thy  thoughts  no  tongue, 
Nor  any  unproportion'd  thought  his  act. 
Be  thou  familiar,  but  by  no  means  vulgar  ; 
The  friends  thou  hast,  and  their  adoption  tried, 
Grapple  them  to  thy  soul  with  hooks  of  steel ; 
But  do  not  dull  thy  palm  with  entertainment 
Of  each  new-hatch' d,  unfledged  comrade.     Beware 
Of  entrance  into  quarrel :  but,  being  in, 
Bear  it,  that  the  opposer  may  beware  of  thee. 
Give  every  man  thine  ear,  but  few  thy  voice ; 
Take  each  man's  censure,  but  reserve  thy  judgment 
Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy, 
But  not  express'd  in  fancy  ;  rich,  not  gaudy  ; 
For  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the  man. 
Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be  ; 
For  loan  oft  loses  both  itself  and  friends, 
And  borrowing  dulls  the  edge  of  husbandry. 
This,  above  all — to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  127 


EXTRACT  FROM   SIR  FOWELL  BUXTON'S 
LETTER  TO  HIS   SON. 

"  You  are  now  at  that  period  of  life  in  which  you 
must  make  a  turn  to  the  right  or  the  left.  You  must 
now  give  proofs  of  principle,  determination,  and  strength 
of  mind — or  you  must  sink  into  idleness,  and  acquire  the 
habits  and  character  of  a  desultory,  ineffective  young 
man ;  and,  if  once  you  fall  to  that  point,  you  will  find 
it  no  easy  matter  to  rise  again. 

"  /  am  sure  that  a  young  man  may  be  very  much  what 
he  pleases.  In  my  own  case  it  was  so.  I  left  school, 
where  I  had  learned  little  or  nothing,  about  the  age  of 
fourteen.  I  spent  the  next  year  at  home  learning  to 
hunt  and  shoot.  Then  it  was  that  the  prospect  of  going 
to  college  opened  upon  me,  and  such  thoughts  as  I  have 
expressed  in  this  letter  occurred  to  my  mind.  I  made 
my  resolutions,  and  I  acted  up  to  them :  I  gave  up  all 
desultory  reading — I  never  looked  into  a  novel  or  a 
newspaper — I  gave  up  shooting.  During  the  five  years 
I  was  in  Ireland,  I  had  the  liberty  of  going  when  I 
pleased  to  a  capital  shooting-place.  I  never  went  but 
twice.  In  short,  I  considered  every  hour  as  precious, 
and  I  made  every  thing  bend  to  my  determination  not 
to  be  behind  any  of  my  companions  ;  and  then  I  speedily 
passed  fr<fm  one  species  of  character  to  another.  I  had 
been  a  boy  fond  of  pleasure  and  idleness,  reading  only 
books  of  unprofitable  entertainment.  I  became  speedily 
a  youth  of  steady  habits  of  application,  and  of  irresistible 


128    READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

resolution.  I  soon  gained  the  ground  I  had  lost,  and  I 
found  those  things  which  were  difficult,  and  almost  im- 
possible to  my  idleness,  easy  enough  to  my  industry ; 
and  much  of  my  happiness  and  ALL  MY  PROSPERITY  IN 
LIFE  have  resulted  from  the  change  I  made  at  your  age. 
If  you  seriously  resolve  to  be  energetic  and  industrious, 
depend  upon  it  you  will,  for  your  whole  life,  have  reason 
to  rejoice  that  you  were  wise  enough  to  form  and  to  act 
upon  that  determination." 


FOWELL  BUXTON'S  MOTTO. 

"  THE  longer  I  live,  the  more  I  am  certain  that  the 
great  difference  between  men,  between  the  feeble  and  the 
powerful,  the  great  and  the  insignificant,  is  ENERGY — 
INVINCIBLE  DETERMINATION— a  purpose  once 
fixed,  and  then  DEATH  or  VICTORY.  That  quality  will 
do  any  thing  that  can  be  done  in  this  world : — and  NO 

TALENTS,  NO  CIRCUMSTANCES,  NO  OPPORTUNITIES,  WILL 
MAKE  A  TWO-LEGGED  CREATURE  A  MAN  WITHOUT  IT." 

There  !  write  that  upon  your  souls,  young  men.  Let  it 
be  text  on  which  you  may  preach  to  yourselves  ;  and 
take  care  to  pay  the  preacher  the  best  compliment  that 
preachers  can  receive, — let  your  conduct,  by  embodying 
the  text,  do  credit  to  the  sermon. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  129 


SELF-RELIANCE. 

INSIST  on  yourself;  never  imitate.  Your  own  gift 
you  can  present  every  moment  with  the  cumulative  force 
of  a  whole  life's  cultivation  ;  but  of  the  adopted  talent  ot 
another  you  have  only  an  extemporaneous  half-posses- 
sion. That  which  each  can  do  best,  none  but  his  Maker 
can  teach  him.  No  man  yet  knows  what  it  is,  nor  can, 
till  that  person  has  exhibited  it.  Where  is  the  master 
who  could  have  taught  Shakspeare  ?  Where  is  the  man 
who  could  have  instructed  Franklin,  or  Washington,  or 
Bacon,  or  Newton  ?  Every  great  man  is  a  unique. 
The  Scipionism  of  Scipio  is  precisely  that  part  he  could 
not  borrow.  If  anybody  will  tell  me  whom  the  great 
man  imitates  in  the  original  crisis  when  he  performs  a 
great  act,  I  will  tell  him  who  else  than  himself  can  teach 
him.  Shakspeare  will  never  be  made  by  the  study  of 
Shakspeare.  Do  that  which  is  assigned  thee,  and  thou 
canst  not  hope  too  much,  or  dare  too  much.  There  is  at 
this  moment,  there  is  for  me  an  utterance  bare  and  grand 
as  that  of  the  colossal  chisel  of  Phidias,  or  trowel  of  the 
Egyptians,  or  the  pen  of  Moses  or  Dante,  but  different 
from  all  these.  Not  possible  will  the  soul,  all  rich,  all 
eloquent,  with  thousand-cloven  tongue,  deign  to  repeat 
itself;  but  if  I  can  hear  what  these  patriarchs  say, 
surely  I  can  reply  in  the  same  pitch  of  voice ;  for  the 
ear  and  the  tongue  are  two  organs  of  one  nature. 
Dwell  up  there  in  the  simple  and  noble  regions  of  thy 
life,  obey  the  heart,  and  thou  shalt  reproduce  the  fore- 
world  again. 


130   READINGS  FOE  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 


THE  TRUE  MAN  OF  BUSINESS. 

"  As  a  nail  sticketh  fast  between  the  joinings  of  the 
stones,"  says  Ecclesiasticus,  "  so  doth  sin  between  buyer 
and  seller."  The  writer  does  not  mean  to  assert  this  as 
an  unvarying  fact,  but  to  indicate  a  general  tendency. 
There  is  temptation,  there  is  peril  to  integrity,  in  the 
position  and  attitude  of  a  trader  ;  and  this  danger  should 
be  pointed  out  so  that  it  may  be  avoided.  It  is  a  fearful 
thing  to  stand  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that,  if  I  were 
able  to  buy  such  a  one's  property,  or  sell  him  mine,  be- 
fore he  could  receive  the  news  brought  from  Europe  by 
the  last  steamship,  my  fortune  would  be  made. 

It  must  be  hard  for  a  merchant  to  know  that,  if  to- 
day's telegraphic  despatches  would  only  embody  the 
news,  even  though  false,  of  a  killing  frost  throughout 
the  cotton-growing  region,  or  the  conflagration  of  all 
the  mercantile  quarter  of  New  Orleans,  he  would  be 
solvent  and  wealthy ;  while  in  the  absence  of  such  tid- 
ings he  must  inevitably  suspend  payment.  Mercantile 
integrity  is  subjected  to  trials  of  which  the  farmer  or 
artisan  lives  and  dies  in  happy  unconsciousness — trials 
none  the  less  real  that  we  all  know  how  false  and  fleeting 
is  the  success  or  deliverance  achieved  through  wrong- 
doing. For  ages,  for  centuries,  men  have  repeated, 
parrot-like,  the  axiom  that  "  Honesty  is  the  best  policy ; " 
yet  how  many  profoundly  realize  its  truth  ?  How  many 
really  believe  that  a  man  in  pecuniary  difficulty,  who 
might  extricate  himself  by  a  night  of  fortunate  gaming, 


AND   MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  131 

would  be  most  unwise  in  consenting  to  do  so  ?  It  is  so 
easy  to  be  superficially  honest,  in  the  absence  of  any 
strong  temptation  to  knavery,  that  a  great  many  who 
are  ingrained  rascals  have  never  yet  suspected  the  fact. 

A  youth  launches  gaily  and  hopefully  on  the  sea  of 
active  life,  and  sails  smoothly  on  its  placid  bosom,  im- 
pelled by  gentle  favouring  gales,  unthinking  of  peril,  and 
unsuspecting  the  neighbourhood  of  adversity — what  can 
he  learn  from  such  a  voyage  ?  In  the  absence  of  danger, 
what  is  proved  by  his  freedom  from  fear  ?  Blest  with 
abundance  and  ease,  what  merit  is  there  in  his  refraining 
from  deception  and  robbery  ?  And  thus  it  chances  that 
very  much  which  passes  current  of  honesty  is  only  un- 
developed or  undetected  knavery. 

Integrity  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  character  of  the 
true  man  of  business,  in  whose  absence  the  whole  edifice 
topples  to  its  ruin.  It  is  quite  possible — nay,  it  is  no- 
torious— that  dishonest  men  have  acquired  wealth  by 
traffic ;  but  they  are  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  and 
their  success,  hollow  and  unreal  at  best,  was  a  conse- 
quence of  some  good  quality  they  possessed,  and  not  of 
their  lack  of  the  best  quality  of  all.  If  twenty  have  suc- 
ceeded out  of  one  hundred  merchants  who  have  traded  in 
any  county,  or  in  any  particular  block  in  some  city,  at 
least  fifteen  of  them  would  prove,  on  a  careful  scrutiny, 
to  have  been  more  upright  and  conscientious  than  the 
great  mass  of  their  less  fortunate  rivals.  Vainly  shall  a 
man  hope  to  live  and  thrive  by  buying  and  selling  after 
his  neighbours,  his  customers,  have  learned  by  sad  ex- 
perience that  his  word  is  not  reliable — that  his  represen- 
tations of  the  cost  or  quality  of  his  wares  are  not  to  be 


132   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

trusted.  Of  two  persons  of  equal  capacity  who  have 
been  ten  years  in  trade,  one  having  acquired  therein 
only  experience,  with  the  decided  confidence  of  his 
neighbours,  and  a  fair  circle  of  dealers  and  customers, 
while  the  other  has  amassed  some  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars, but  at  the  cost  of  a  reputation  for  slipperiness  and 
dishonesty,  the  latter  is  this  day  the  poorer  man,  as  time 
will  clearly  establish.  Nothing  is  more  common  or  more 
fatal  than  the  grasping  of  an  advantage  at  the  cost  of  ten 
times  its  value  ;  and  he  who  has  traded  out  his  neigh- 
bours' good  opinion  is  pretty  certain  to  die  a  poor  man, 
however  high  the  price  for  which  he  sold  it. 

But  integrity,  though  indispensable,  is  not  all-sufficient 
as  a  basis  of  the  true  mercantile  character.  The  true 
merchant  must  be  impelled  to  his  vocation  by  a  convic- 
tion that  therein  can  he  best  serve  God  by  blessing 
mankind.  The  merchant  is  an  intermediate,  an  electric 
wire,  a  channel  of  intercourse,  between  producers  in  dif- 
ferent sections,  climes,  or  countries.  Since  it  is  certain 
that  the  heat  of  the  tropics  germinates  and  ripens  many 
useful  plants  which  could  never  mature  under  the  skies 
of  the  temperate  zone,  while  even  the  polar  regions  con- 
tribute many  things  to  the  sustenance  and  comfort  of 
man  which  could  not  be  advantageously  produced  else- 
where, the  honest  and  capable  exchanger  of  the  diverse 
products  of  these  varying  latitudes  is  a  common  bene- 
factor. Though  not  literally  a  producer,  he  is  essentially 
and  practically  so,  by  enabling  each  customer  to  satisfy  his 
legitimate  wants  more  cheaply  and  thoroughly  than  he 
otherwise  could  do,  and  thereby  inciting  to  greater  ac- 
tivity and  efficiency  in  production,  Without  commerce, 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  133 

many  who  now  earn  and  enjoy  the  material  comforts  of 
civilization,  would  rest  contented  with  the  few,  rude,  and 
scanty  devices  and  satisfactions  of  barbarism.  Commerce 
increases  both  the  impulses  toward  and  facilities  for  per- 
petual progress  in  the  useful  arts,  whereof  intellectual 
progress  is  the  natural  counterpart  and  concomitant. 
The  merchant,  therefore,  whose  sole  attachment  to  his 
calling  is  a  sordid  lust  of  gain,  coupled  with  a  belief  that 
he  can  acquire  property  faster  or  easier  by  exchanging 
other's  products  than  by  directly  producing  himself,  is 
most  unlikely  to  honour  his  vocation,  or  even  to  be  emi- 
nently successful  in  the  ranks  of  its  votaries. 

Assuming,  then,  that  integrity,  with  an  earnest  con- 
viction that  this  is  for  him  the  path  of  duty  and  of  phi- 
lanthropy, should  form  the  bases  of  the  character  and 
career  of  a  true  merchant,  let  me  proceed  to  indicate 
some  of  the  qualities  and  capabilities  for  which  he  should 
be  distinguished  : — 

I.  He  should  be  methodical  and  exact  in  his  calcula- 
tions and  dealings.  His  promises,  however  casual  their 
origin  or  trivial  their  subject,  should  be  performed  to  the 
letter ;  and  he  should  insist  on  the  like  good  faith  from 
others,  under  penalty  of  never  confiding  a  second  time  in 
one  who  has  forfeited  his  word.  The  property  or  interest 
immediately  involved  may  be  of  trifling  value  ;  but  truth 
is  no  trifle.  The  merchant  should,  as  early  as  practi- 
cable, separate  his  customers  and  others  with  whom  he 
deals  into  two  classes — those  whose  word  is  to  be  im- 
plicitly relied  on,  and  the  other  sort — and  thenceforth 
treat  each  class  according  to  their  respective  merits.  To 
the  latter  he  should  say  frankly,  whenever  the  proper 


134   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

opportunity  presents  itself,  "  I  cannot  again  confide  in 
your  word,  because  you  have  shown  me  that  you  either 
cannot  or  will  not  redeem  it.  I  do  not  judge  you ;  but, 
if  I  trust  at  all,  it  must  be  some  one  who  fulfils  his 
promises,  at  whatever  inconvenience  or  sacrifice."  By 
this  course,  he  will  perpetually  and  strongly  inculcate 
the  advantages  of  probity  and  fidelity,  and  thus  conduce 
to  their  increase  and  diffusion. 

II.  He  should  inflexibly  set  his  face  against  any  sys- 
tem of  loose  general  credit  on  goods  purchased  for  con- 
sumption. Credit  is  an  excellent,  a  most  beneficial 
device ;  but.  like  most  good  things,  is  susceptible  of  the 
greatest  abuse.  A  poor  young  man  qualified  to  manage 
a  farm  or  conduct  some  mercantile  business,  seeks  credit 
for  his  farm  or  his  stock,  and  perhaps  for  some  share  of 
his  seeds  and  implements ;  though  every  man  should 
earn  something  by  working  for  others  before  running  in 
debt  for  the  outfit  of  an  independent  business.  The 
merchant  who  sells  largely  may  very  well  require  credit 
for  some  part  of  his  new  stock,  if  he  has  taken  notes 
which  he  cannot  readily  turn  for  the  old  one.  But 
neither  farmer,  mechanic,  nor  anybody  else,  should  run 
up  bills  from  week  to  week  for  food  and  clothing,  but 
should  make  a  point  of  paying  for  his  subsistence  as  he 
may  require  it.  The  neglect  of  this  rule  is  one  main 
cause  of  the  prevalence  of  extravagance,  over-trading, 
and  general  insolvency,  frequently  resulting  in  mercan- 
tile bankruptcy  and  general  revulsion.  The  humble 
cultivator  who  owes  for  half  his  farm,  and  cannot  turn 
off  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of 
produce  per  annum,  out  of  which  one  hundred  dollars 


AND   MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  135 

iriust  be  paid  as  interest  on  his  debt,  is  often  tempted 
by  the  facility  of  obtaining  credit,  to  buy  silks  and  satins 
for  his  wife  and  daughters,  broadcloth  and  fine  boots 
for  his  sons,  or  allow  them  to  buy  such  for  themselves 
on  his  account,  when  he  can  by  no  means  afford  such 
expenditures.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  true  merchant  to 
resist  and  correct  this  tendency,  by  insisting  on  prompt 
payment  for  all  purchases,  except  under  peculiar  circum- 
stances. Cash  should  be  the  general  rule,  credit  the 
rare  exception.  The  poor  man  who  has  encountered 
some  sudden  and  severe  calamity,  such  as  the  burning 
of  his  house,  or  the  destruction  of  his  crops  by  hurricane 
or  flood,  may  very  properly  be  proffered  credit  for  a 
season  at  cash  prices ;  so  may  the  poor  widow  whose 
children,  this  year  at  school,  will  be  earning  wages  and 
able  to  help  her  next  season.  But  in  all  ordinary  cases 
the  merchant,  if  only  from  a  patriotic  regard  for  the 
general  well-being,  should  inflexibly  refuse  to  sell  on 
credit,  since  such  selling  is  and  ever  must  be,  to  the 
uncircumspect  majority,  a  temptation  and  facility  for 
general  improvidence  and  overtrading.  "  Mr.  Presi- 
dent," said  the  eccentric  John  Randolph,  interrupting 
himself  in  one  of  his  senatorial  diatribes,  "  I  have  dis- 
covered the  philosopher's  stone !  It  consists  of  four 
short  words  of  homely  English,  '  Pay  as  you  go.'  " 

III.  On  the  same  principle  the  true  merchant  will  care- 
fully consider,  in  selecting  his  goods,  not  merely  whether 
he  caif  sell  them  at  a  profit,  but  whether  that  profit, 
should  he  accept  it,  would  not  be  made  at  the  expense  of 
the  moral  and  pecuniary  welfare  of  the  community.  He 
might  seem  to  make  a  large  profit  on  alcoholic  bever- 


136   READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

ages,  implements  of  gaming,  &c. ;  but  he  knows,  in  the 
first  place,  that  he  has  no  moral  right  to  make  money 
in  any  such  way  ;  and,  next,  that  all  the  devil's  gold  that 
may  thus  be  realized  is  sure  to  vanish,  like  dream-won 
treasure,  even  while  the  hand  fiercely  clutches  it.  The 
merchant  who  sells  intoxicating  liquors  is  burning  up 
his  customers  for  the  little  fat  he  can  fry  out  of  them, 
and  wasting  nine-tenths  of  it  in  the  process.  He  gets 
some  twenty  dollars  clear  profit  on  a  pipe  of  brandy 
and  uses  up,  by  selling  it,  a  customer,  out  of  whom  he 
made  fifty  dollars  a  year,  and  who,  falling  into  intemper- 
ance and  insolvency,  does  him  out  of  two  hundred  dol- 
lars or  so  charged  on  his  books.  Thus,  all  traffic  which 
panders  to  vicious  appetites  is  ruinous  to  the  legitimate 
business  of  the  dealer,  and  every  dollar  of  profit  he 
secures  by  it  costs  him  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  ;  but,  even 
if  such  were  not  the  fact,  he  has  no  right  to  seek  gain 
through  the  enlargement  of  Satan's  kingdom.  The  end 
of  his  moral  existence  is  quite  other  than  that.  He  is 
here  to  do  good,  and  not  evil — to  erect  barriers  to  the 
spread  of  vice,  and  not  to  facilitate  and  profit  by  its  dif- 
fusion. He  may,  indeed,  have  a  good  opportunity  to 
secure  gain  in  this  way ;  but  to  argue  thence  that  he 
has  a  right  to  do  so,  is  to  sanctify  the  treachery  of  Judas, 
and  proclaim  his  earning  of  the  thirty  pieces  a  "  fair 
business  transaction." 

IV.  But  the  merchant's  virtue  should  be  not  merely  neg- 
ative and  obstructive — it  should  be  positively  and  actively 
beneficent.  He  should  use  the  opportunities  afforded  by 
his  vocation  to  foster  agricultural  and  mechanical  im- 
provement, to  advance  the  cause  of  education,  and  dif- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  137 

fuse  the  principles  not  only  of  virtue,  but  of  refinement 
and  correct  taste.  He  should  be  continually  on  the 
watch  for  whatever  seems  calculated  to  instruct,  ennoble, 
refine,  dignify,  and  benefit  the  community  in  which  he 
lives.  He  should  be  an  early  and  generous  patron  of 
useful  inventions  and  discoveries,  so  far  as  his  position 
and  means  will  permit.  He  should  be  a  regular  pur- 
chaser of  new  and  rare  books,  such  as  the  majority  will 
not  buy,  yet  ought  to  read,  with  a  view  to  the  widest  dis- 
semination of  the  truths  they  unfold.  If  located  in  the 
country,  he  should  never  visit  the  city  to  replenish  his 
stock  without  endeavouring  to  bring  back  something  that 
will  afford  valuable  suggestions  to  his  customers  and 
neighbours.  If  these  are  in  good  part  farmers,  and  no 
store  in  the  vicinity  is  devoted  especially  to  this  depart- 
ment, he  should  be  careful  to  keep  a  supply  of  the  best 
ploughs  and  other  implements  of  farming,  as  well  as  of 
the  choicest  seeds,  cuttings,  &c.  and  of  those  fertilizing 
substances  best  adapted  to  the  soil  of  his  township,  or 
most  advantageously  transported  thither ;  and  these  he 
should  be  very  willing  to  sell  at  cost,  especially  to  the 
poor  or  the  penurious,  in  order  to  encourage  their  general 
acceptance  and  use.  Though  he  make  no  profit  directly 
on  the  sale  of  these,  he  is  indirectly  but  substantially 
benefited  by  whatsoever  shall  increase  the  annual  pro- 
duction of  his  township,  and  thus  the  ability  of  his  cus- 
tomers to  purchase  and  consume  his  goods.  The  merchant 
whose  customers  and  neighbours  are  enabled  to  turn  off 
three,  five,  seven,  or  nine  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  pro- 
duce per  annum  from  farms  which  formerly  yielded  but 
one  or  two  hundred  dollars'  worth  beyond  the  direct  con- 


138       READINGS   FOB    YOUNG    MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

sumption  of  their  occupants,  is  in  the  true  and  safe  road 
to  competence  and  wealth,  if  he  knows  how  to  manage 
his  business.  Every  wild  wood  or  waste  morass  rendered 
arable  and  fruitful,  every  field  made  to  grow  fifty  bushels 
of  grain  per  acre,  where  but  fifteen  or  twenty  were 
formerly  realized,  is  a  new  tributary  to  the  stream  of  his 
trade,  and  so  clearly  conducive  to  his  prosperity. 

V.  For  a  higher  reason  than  this,  but  not  therefore  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact,  he  should  be  a  steadfast  and  liberal 
patron  of  religious  instruction  and  worship,  of  intellectual 
culture  and  discipline,  of  temperance,  of  agricultural 
societies  and  mechanics'  associations,  and  whatever  sensi- 
bly conduces  either  to  diffuse  and  strengthen  morality,  or 
to  ennoble  and  increase  industry.  A  community  wherein 
God  is  not  obeyed,  and  labour  is  not  respected,  must 
seem,  to  any  reflecting  man,  a  very  undesirable  place  for 
the  training  of  his  children.  Their  life  can  rarely  be 
tranquil  and  happy;  their  property  can  hardly  be  se- 
cure; there-  the  sweets  of  peace  and  contentment  can 
scarcely  be  enjoyed  through  a  series  of  years.  If  it  were 
possible  for  the  atheist  or  the  sensualist  to  be  truly  wise, 
he  would  labour  to  inculcate  and  diffuse  the  great  fun- 
damental truths  of  religion  and  morality,  if  from  no 
higher  motive  than  a  selfish  regard  for  his  own  ease  and 
safety.  Nations,  states,  and  smaller  communities  subsist 
by  faith  and  virtue,  and  perish  through  the  disintegrating 
influences  of  sensuality  and  vice.  That  community  which 
has  cast  off  all  faith  in  the  invisible  and  everlasting,  and 
cut  down  its  creed  to  a  mere  recognition  of  the  material 
and  the  palpable — which  realizes  only  that  sugar  is 
sweet,  that  fire  will  burn,  and  that  "  ginger  is  hot  i'  the 


AND   MEN   OP  BUSINESS.  139 

mouth  " — is  on  the  broad  highway  to  destruction,  how- 
ever dazzling  its  present  outward  show  of  prosperity. 

VI.  The  true  merchant  will  be  a  liberal  but  discrimi- 
nating supporter  of  the  press  in  his  locality.  He  will 
not  feel  an  obligation  to  patronize  any  and  every  thing 
that  wears  the  form  of  a  newspaper,  but  will  scan  care- 
fully the  intellectual  ability  and  moral  fitness  of  those 
who  assume  the  lofty  responsibility  of  public  teaching 
through  the  press.  He  will  not  encourage  the  dissemi- 
nation nor  continuance  of  journals  edited  by  the  incom- 
petent or  unworthy ;  but  if  there  be  none  other  than 
these  already  in  existence  in  his  county,  he  will  combine 
with  men  like  himself  to  procure  the  establishment  of 
such  a  journal  as  is  needed,  or  the  transfer  of  one  already 
existing  into  the  hands  of  some  one  qualified  to  guide 
opinion  and  dispel  mental  darkness.  Such  a  journal  he 
will  liberally  and  steadily  encourage  and  support,  by  ad- 
vertising in  its  columns  at  good  prices,  by  urging  upon 
other  business  men  the  duty  of  doing  likewise,  and  by 
soliciting  his  customers  and  neighbours  to  give  it  at  least 
their  subscriptions,  regularly  continued  and  uniformly 
paid  in  advance.  By  pursuing  this  course,  the  merchant 
may  do  very  much  toward  the  diffusion  of  intelligence, 
the  predominance  of  sound  principles,  and  the  purifica- 
tion of  morals.  He  need  not  be  a  political  brawler  nor 
habitual  agitator  on  any  subject — there  is  a  more  excel- 
lent way.  He  may  give  to  an  improved  and  influential 
journal  in 'his  county  from  two  to  five  hundred  dollars' 
worth  of  advertising  per  annum,  and  procure  from  others, 
by  the  power  of  his  solicitations  and  example,  five  times 
as  much  more ;  while  each  name  added  to  the  list  of  its 


140       READINGS   FOR  YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

subscribers  extends  the  publicity  of  his  announcements, 
and  their  potency  in  enlarging  his  business.  Thus  will 
he  exert  a  noiseless,  unintermitted  influence  in  diminish- 
ing the  kingdom  of  darkness,  extending  the  sway  of 
virtue,  and  laying  deep  and  broad  the  foundations  of 
general  and  personal  prosperity. 

The  true  merchant  will  not  be  likely  to  forget  that  his 
essential  function  is  that  of  an  exchanger  of  products, 
and  not  merely  that  of  a  seller.  In  great  cities,  and  at 
certain  commercial  points,  this  function  is  properly  sub- 
divided, not  merely  between  buyers  of  produce  and  sellers 
of  goods,  but  usually  between  many  different  classes  of 
sellers  and  buyers  ;  dry-goods,  groceries,  paints,  meats, 
breadstuff's,  &c.  &c.,  being  severally  bought  and  sold  by 
dealers  in  each  particular  department.  It  is  otherwise, 
however,  throughout  a  good  part  of  the  country,  where, 
from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  the  same  person  is  both 
buyer  and  seller,  and  deals  in  nearly  every  variety  of 
product  exported,  or  fabric  required  by  the  people  of  his 
neighbourhood.  Here  the  merchant  should  be  not  more 
solicitous  to  sell  goods  than  to  enable  his  customers 
readily  to  pay  for  them ;  to  which  end  he  should  zeal- 
ously promote  every  effort  by  feasible  means  to  increase 
their  facilities  of  communication  with  the  seaboard,  and  to 
bring  markets  for  their  products  nearer  to  their  doors  by 
their  calling  into  existence  new  branches  of  industry, 
and  building  up  or  reviving  manufactures.  No  wise 
merchant  will  fear  that  his  trade  will  suffer  by  this  diver- 
sification of  pursuits  ;  for  abundant  experience  has  de- 
monstrated that  they  buy  most  from  abroad  who  produce 
most  and  in  greatest  variety  at  home.  Thus,  Massachu- 


AND    MEN    OP    BUSINESS.  141 

setts  consumes  far  more  (in  value)  of  foreign  products 
per  annum  than  North  Carolina  or  Tennessee,  because 
the  wide  extension  of  her  manufactures  has  rendered 
her  industry  far  more  universal,  and  has,  by  largely  in- 
creasing her  aggregate  of  production,  correspondingly 
increased  her  power  of  purchase  and  consumption. 
Whether  by  reducing  the  expense  of  reaching  a  dis- 
tant market,  or  by  bringing  a  market  for  their  surplus 
productions  much  nearer,  the  merchant  who  conduces  to 
the  essential  advantage  of  his  neighbours,  his  customers, 
ministers  thereby  to  his  own  thrift  and  solid  prosperity. 


DELAYS. 

SHTJN  delays,  they  breed  remorse  ; 

Take  thy  time  while  time  is  lent  thee ; 
Creeping  snails  have  weakest  force — 

Fly  their  fault,  lest  thou  repent  thee ; 
Good  is  best  when  sooner  wrought, 

Ling  ring  labours  come  to  nought. 

Hoist  up  sail  while  gale  doth  last, 

Tide  and  wind  stay  no  man's  pleasure ! 

Seek  not  time  when  time  is  past, 
Sober  speed  is  wisdom's  leisure ; 

After  wits  are  dearly  bought, 

Let  thy  forewit  guide  thy  thought. 


142   READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Time  wears  all  his  locks  before, 
Take  thou  hold  upon  his  forehead ; 

When  he  flees  he  turns  no  more, 
And  behind  his  scalp  is  naked. 

Works  adjourn'd  have  many  stays, 
Long  demurs  breed  new  delays. 


WILD  YOUNG  MEN. 

THERE  is  a  class  of  young  men  who  consider  them- 
selves gentlemen,  and  who  are  received  by  many  as  if 
they  were ;  and  yet  they  deserve  as  well  to  be  sent  to 
the  treadmill  or  to  the  hulks  as  any  scoundrel  who  re- 
ceives sentence  at  the  Old  Bailey.  These  are  they 
whom  partial  acquaintances,  or  persons  of  weak  prin- 
ciple, or  of  none,  call  "  wild  young  men."  Now,  their 
wildness  is  the  least  objectionable  thing  about  them. 
They  are  almost  vain  and  heartless  to  the  last  degree ; 
and,  however  desperate  in  their  extravagance,  they  are 
cool  and  calculating  enough  in  their  selfishness.  These 
are  the  reckless  villains  who  break  the  hearts  of  widowed 
mothers,  and  seem  to  feel  no  remorse  from  it.  They 
have  no  notion  of  affection  save  as  a  weakness  in  a 
parent  or  a  friend,  of  which  they  make  advantage  to 
obtain  money  for  gross  indulgences.  These  are  the 
monsters  who,  even  after  they  have  come  to  years 
in  which  some  honest  thoughtfulness  and  some  manly 
feeling  might  be  expected,  go  on  in  a  base  career  of 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS. 


ils 


blackguardism,  which  they  are  so  wicked  and  so  miser- 
able as  to  think  spirited,  and  dashing,  and  so  forth. 
Meanwhile  mothers'  hearts  are  breaking,  and  sisters 
are  made  ashamed,  and  fathers  become  morose  and  de- 
spairing of  all  good,  and  domestic  circles,  which  might 
be  full  of  thankfulness,  and  cheerfulness,  and  hope,  are, 
by  the  hardened  profligacy  of  one  of  their  members, 
turned  into  gloom,  and  gnawing  anxiety,  and  terrified 
anticipation  of  what  each  new  day  may  bring  forth. 

And  they  who  do  all  this  shocking  mischief  for  their 
own  gratification,  are  merely  called  "wild  young  men." 
What  are  they  but  robbers  of  the  household  store,  ay, 
and  too  frequently,  parricides  also,  killing  father  and 
mother  by  inches,  bringing  down  gray  hairs  with  sorrow 
to  the  grave  ?  The  hangman's  whip  would  be  the  most 
appropriate  tamer  of  such  wildness. 


GOOD  ADVICE. 

I  HAVE  rarely  seen  that  man  who  conscientiously  de- 
voted himself  to  the  studies  and  duties  of  any  profession, 
and  did  not  omit  to  take  fair  and  honourable  opportu- 
nities of  offering  himself  to  notice,  when  such  presented 
themselves,  has  not  at  length  got  forward.  The  mischance 
of  those  wfeo  fall  behind,  though  flung  upon  Fortune,  more 
frequently  arises  from  want  of  skill  and  perseverance. 
Life,  my  young  friend,  is  like  a  game  of  cards — our 
hands  are  alternately  good  or  bad,  and  the  whole  seems, 


144       READINGS    FOR    TOTING    MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

at  first  glance,  to  depend  on  mere  chance.  But  it  is  not 
so ;  for,  in  the  long  run,  the  skill  of  the  player  predomi- 
nates over  the  casualities  of  the  game.  Then  be  not 
discouraged  by  the  prospect  before  you,  but  ply  your 
studies  hard,  and  qualify  yourself  to  receive  fortune 
when  she  comes  in  your  way. 


PERSEVERANCE. 

TIME  hath,  my  lord,  a  wallet  at  his  back, 

Wherein  he  puts  alms  for  Oblivion, 

A  great-sized  monster  of  ingratitudes ; 

Those  scraps  are  good  deeds  past,  which  are  devour'd 

As  fast  as  they  are  made,  forgot  as  soon 

As  done.     Perseverance,  dear,  my  lord, 

Keeps  honour  bright ;  to  have  done,  is  to  hang 

Quite  out  of  fashion,  like  a  rusty  nail, 

In  monumental  mockery.     Take  the  instant  way, 

For  honour  travels  in  a  strait  so  narrow, 

Where  one  but  goes  abreast ;  keep,  then,  the  path  ; 

For  Emulation  hath  a  thousand  sons, 

That  one  by  one  pursue  ;  if  you  give  way, 

Or  hedge  aside  from  the  direct  forthright, 

Like  to  an  enter'd  tide,  they  all  rush  by, 

And  leave  you  hindmost. 

Or  like  a  gallant  horse,  fallen  in  first  rank, 

Lie  there  for  pavement  to  the  abject  rear, 

O'errun  and  trampled  on :  then  what  they  do  in  present, 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  145 

Though  less  than  yours  in  past,  must  o'ertop  yours  ; 

For  time  is  like  a  fashionable  host, 

That  slightly  shakes  his  parting  guest  by  the  hand, 

And  with  his  arms  outstretch'd,  as  he  would  fly, 

Grasps  in  the  comer :  Welcome  ever  smiles, 

And  Farewell  goes  out  sighing.     0  let  not  virtue  seek 

Remuneration  for  the  thing  it  was  :  for  beauty,  wit, 

High  birth,  vigour  of  bone,  desert  in  service, 

Love,  friendship,  charity,  are  subjects  all 

To  envious  and  calumniating  Time. 


GO  A-HEAD. 

WHEN  your  plans  of  life  are  clear, 

Go  a-head — 

But  no  faster  than  your  brains  : 
Haste  is  always  in  the  rear ; 
If  Dame  Prudence  has  the  reins, 

Go  a-head. 

Never  doubt  a  righteous  cause, 

Go  a-head ; 

Throw  yourself  completely  in  : 
Conscience  shaping  all  your  laws, 
Manfully  through  thick  and  thin, 

Go  a-head. 

10 


146   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Do  not  ask  who'll  go  with  you, 

I     Go  a-head ; 
Numbers)  spurn  the  coward's  plea  ! 

^r\. 

If  there  be  but  one  or  two, 
Single-handed  though  it  be, 
Go  a-head. 


Though  before  you  mountains  rise, 

Go  a-head ; 

Scale  them  !  certainly  you  can  ; 
Let  them  proudly  dare  the  skies  ; 
What  are  mountains  to  a  man  ? 

Go  a-head. 

Though  fierce  waters  round  you  dash, 

Go  a-head. 

Let  no  hardships  baffle  you  ; 
Though  the  heavens  roar  and  flash, 
Still  undaunted,  firm,  and  true, 

Go  a-head. 

Heed  not  Mammon's  golden  bell, 

Go  a-head. 

Make  no  compromise  with  sin  ; 
Tell  the  serpent  he  looks  well, 
But  you  cannot  let  him  in — 

Go  a-head. 

Better  days  are  drawing  nigh, 

Go  a-head. 
Making  duty  all  your  pride, 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  147 

You  must  prosper,  live  or  die, 

For  all  heaven  is  on  your  side  ; 

Go  a-head. 


NOW! 

"  Now  "  is  the  constant  syllable  ticking  from  the  clock 
of  Time.  "  Now "  is  the  watchword  of  the  wise. 
"  Now "  is  on  the  banner  of  the  prudent.  Let  us 
keep  this  little  word  always  in  our  mind ;  and,  when- 
ever any  thing  presents  itself  to  us  in  the  shape  of  work, 
whether  mental  or  physical,  we  should  do  it  with  all  our 
might,  remembering  that  "  now "  is  the  only  time  for  us. 
It  is  indeed  a  sorry  way  to  get  through  the  world  by 
putting  off  till  to-morrow,  saying,  "  Then "  I  will  do  it. 
No  !  this  will  never  answer.  "  Now  "  is  ours  ;  "  Then  " 
may  never  be. 


BYE-AND-BYE. 

THERE'S  a  little  mischief-making 

Ellin,  who  is  ever  nigh, 
Thwarting  every  undertaking, 

And  his  name  is  "  Bye-and-Bye.' 


148   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

What  we  ought  to  do  this  minute, 
Will  be  better  done,  he'll  cry, 

If  to-morrow  we  begin  it — 

"  Put  it  off,"  says  "  Bye-and-bye." 

Those  who  heed  his  treacherous  wooing, 
Will  his  faithless  guidance  rue  ; 

What  we  always  put  off  doing, 
Clearly  we  shall  never  do. 

We  shall  reach  what  we  endeavour, 
If  on  "  Now  "  we  more  rely, 

But  unto  the  realms  of  "  Never," 
Leads  the  pilot  "  Bye-and-Bye." 


PERSEVERANCE. 

THIS  word  means  the  steady  pursuit  of  a  plan, 
whether  good  or  bad ;  but  it  would  be  very  unwise 
to  persevere  in  a  plan  which  conscience  or  practice  had 
proved  to  be  bad.  In  actual  life,  where  there  are  so 
many  different  pursuits,  and  different  ways  of  doing  the 
same  thing,  it  means  steadiness  in  the  execution  of 
whatever  plan  is  determined  upon.  Burgh  makes  men- 
tion of  a  merchant,  who,  at  first  setting  out,  opened 
and  shut  his  shop-  every  day  for  several  weeks  together, 
without  selling  goods  to  the  value  of  one  penny,  who, 
by  the  force  of  application  for  a  course  of  years,  rose 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  149 

at  last  to  a  handsome  fortune.  "  But  I  have  known," 
he  says,  "many  who  had  a  variety  of  opportunities  of 
settling  themselves  comfortably  in  the  world,  yet,  for 
want  of  steadiness  to  carry  any  scheme  to  perfection, 
they  sank  from  one  degree  of  wretchedness  to  another 
for  many  years  together,  without  the  least  hopes  of 
ever  getting  above  distress  and  pinching  want.  There 
is  hardly  an  employment  in  life  so  trifling  that  it  will 
not  afford  a  subsistence,  if  constantly  and  faithfully  fol- 
lowed. Indeed,  it  is  by  indefatigable  diligence  alone 
that  a  fortune  can  be  acquired  in  any  business  what- 
ever." 

An  accomplished  American  says,  "That  the  man 
who  is  perpetually  hesitating  which  of  two  things  he 
will  do  first,  will  do  neither.  The  man  who  resolves, 
but  suffers  his  resolution  to  be  changed  by  the  first 
counter-suggestion  of  a  friend — who  fluctuates  from 
opinion  to  opinion,  from  plan  to  plan,  and  veers  like  a 
weathercock  to  every  point  of  the  compass  with  every 
breath  of  caprice  that  blows — can  never  accomplish  any 
thing  great  or  useful.  Instead  of  being  progressive  in 
any  thing  he  will  be  at  best  stationary,  and,  more  prob- 
ably, retrograde  in  all.  It  is  only  the  man  who  carries 
into  his  pursuits  that  great  quality  which  Lucan  ascribes 
to  Caesar,  Nescia  virtus  stare  loco — who  first  consults 
wisely,  then  resolves  firmly,  and  then  executes  his  pur- 
pose with  inflexible  perseverance,  undismayed  by  those 
petty  difficulties  which  daunt  a  weaker  spirit — that  can 
advance  to  eminence  in  any  line." 

If  any  one  is  in  doubt  as  to  what  perseverance  is,  he 
may  soon  find  out  by  a  little  observation.  Look  round 


150        READINGS    FOR   YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

among  your  friends  and  acquaintances ;  there  is  perhaps 
among  them  an  example  of  perseverance.  Keep  your 
eye  on  him  for  a  time ;.  does  it  not  seem  as  though  he 
had  a  double  vitality  within  him,  some  other  man's  life 
as  well  as  his  own  ?  It  is  true  that  his  heart  beats  and 
his  blood  circulates  in  the  same  way  as  that  of  other 
men,  but  you  cannot  help  fancying  that  there  is  some- 
thing else  in  the  circulation  invigorating  every  nerve  and 
muscle,  only  to  cease  when  the  wonderful  machine  stands 
still.  If  at  times  it  seems  to  be  idle,  you  may  be  sure 
that  it  is  not  real  idleness — but  only  a  pause  for  a  new 
start. 

In  the  possession  of  rank  and  riches  he  may,  perhaps, 
not  be  so  well  off — that  is  not  so  bountifully  supplied 
as  many  of  his  neighbours ;  but  yet  he  goes  on  with  a 
cheerful,  hopeful  spirit,  which  sustains  him  in  trials 
that  would  swamp  ordinary  people.  There  is  recipro- 
cal cause  and  effect;  perseverance  promotes  cheerful- 
ness, and  cheerfulness  promotes  perseverance.  He  who 
is  never  idle,  who  has  no  waste  time,  is  in  the  fairest 
way  to  secure  contentment  of  mind  and  body.  Nine 
times  out  of  ten,  the  idle  man,  he  who  has  nothing  to 
do,'  is  unhappy,  and  is  put  to  all  sorts  of  shifts  to  kill 
time — the  most  lamentable  kind  of  murder.  There  is 
something  almost  terrible  in  the  idea  of  flinging  away 
one's  breathing  moments,  the  hours  and  days  which 
are  only  lent  to  us,  as  though  they  were  worthless. 
No  one  likes  to  fling'  away  shillings  by  the  handful, 
and  yet  how  few  hesitate  to  squander  minutes  ! 

Not  so,  however,  with  the  persevering.  He  has  an 
object  in  view,  and  strives  to  accomplish  it.  Early 


AND   MEN    OP   BUSINESS.  151 

and  late  he  follows  it  up,  finding  time  not  too  long,  but 
too  short.  He  cannot  do  half  that  he  would  in  a  day ; 
all  his  waking  moments  are  employed  with  the  duty  he 
has  in  hand,  or  in  thinking  about  it. 

Whether  in  business  or  pleasure,  he  knows  how  to 
make  the  most  of  a  minute.  Idle  gossip,  trivial  recrea- 
tion, dissipating  pursuits,  have  no  charms  for  him ; 
there  is  a  purpose  in  all  that  he  undertakes,  whether 
of  business  or  pleasure.  If  at  times  he  fail,  he  tries 
again — and  again — and  still  tries,  come  what  may.  It 
is  a"  fine  manly  quality  this  perseverance,  especially 
when  well  directed. 

There  is  so  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  keeping  on. 
Apart  from  any  ultimate  benefit,  the  habit  of  occupation 
is  a  perpetual  charm,  preserving  the  mind  from  a  host  of 
irritations  and  discontents.  Sailors,  when  in  danger  of 
shipwreck,  find  it  best  to  keep  on  making  efforts  to  save 
themselves,  even  if  they  perish  at  last,  rather  than  to  sit 
still  and  think  about  the  horrors  of  their  situation.  Far 
better  to  swim  badly  than  not  to  swim  at  all,  if  there  be 
a  chance  of  escaping  drowning.  For  one  devil  that 
tempts  the  busy  man,  there  are  a  hundred  circumventing 
the  idle  one. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  whether  a  man  may 
learn  to  be  persevering — for  if  perseverance  be  of  such 
value  and  benefit,  why  should  not  all  possess  it  ?  The 
answer  is,  that  a  man  may  learn  to  persevere  if  he  will. 
Timid  -people  have  learnt  how  to  subdue  their  timidity, 
cowards  have  become  brave  by  dint  of  trying,  and  the 
feeble  have  felt  that  strength  may  be  gained  by  proper 
exercise.  So  a  man  may  learn  perseverance.  To  do 


152   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

this,  he  must  begin  by  believing  that  he  can  do  it.  He 
must  not  be  disheartened  at  the  outset  by  certain  stock 
phrases  which  seem  to  tell  against  him,  such  a  "  prerog- 
ative of  genius,"  or  "  predominance  of  the  natal  star ;" 
he  must  set  these  down  as  "cabalistic  nonsense,"  and 
confide  in  the  assurance  that  "  diligence  overcomes  all." 
Truly  has  it  been  said,  that  "  there  are  few  difficulties 
that  hold  out  against  real  attacks ;  they  fly,  like  the  visi- 
ble horizon,  before  those  who  advance.  A  passionate 
desire  and  unwearied  will  can  perform  impossibilities,  or 
what  seem  to  be  such  to  the  cold  and  feeble.  If  we  do 
but  go  on,  some  unseen  path  will  open  upon  the  hills. 
Nothing  good  or  great  is  to  be  attained  without  courage 
and  industry.  Resist  unto  the  end.  It  may  be  truly  said 
of  difficulty,  what  is  fabulously  said  of  the  devil — Talk  of 
it,  think  of  it,  and  forthwith  it  will  be  present  to  you  ;  for 
one  substance  of  it,  as  the  poet  says  of  grief,  there  are  at 
least  twenty  shadows.  Let  no  one  doubt  that  persever- 
ance may  be  learned  until  he  has  tried  bravely  and  hon- 
estly for  a  year. 

To  those  who  can  and  do  persevere,  we  would  say  :  Go 
on ;  but  see  that  what  you  strive  for  is  worth  the  effort. 
Remember  that  there  is  a  false  as  well  as  a  true  perse- 
verance, and  it  is  possible  to  waste  the  energies  of  a  life 
on  unworthy  objects.  "  By  their  fruits  shall  ye  know 
them."  We  are  commanded  to  be  "  diligent  in  business," 
but  this  is  not  the  whole.  We  must  persevere  with  our 
inward  life  as  well  as  our  outward  life  ;  there  should  be 
harmony  between  the  two,  if  we  are  to  feel  that  each 
day,  as  it  passes,  has  helped  to  refine  our  mind,  soften 
our  heart,  or  heighten  our  love  of  justice. 


.       AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  153 

To  those  who  persevere  only  by  fits  and  starts — now 
hot,  now  cold — we  would  say,  "  Never  give  up."  Do 
not  lose  courage  or  grow  weary.  Slow  as  the  tortoise 
crept,  he  reached  the  goal  before  the  sleeping  hare.  If 
you  cannot  run,  walk ;  if  you  cannot  fly,  plod.  Plod- 
ding, humble  as  it  seems,  has  done  wonders,  and  will  do 
more  yet.  Consider,  furthermore,  that  when  the  reward 
comes,  it  is  scarcely  ever  such  as  we  had  anticipated. 
We  may  have  aimed  at  getting  rich ;  the  riches  do  not 
come.  But,  instead  thereof,  we  find  ourselves  rich  in 
mind ;  conscious  of  having  striven  manfully  to  do  the 
duty  that  lay  before  us,  and  in  so  doing  have  armed 
ourselves  with  a  reliant  spirit,  which  passes  by  small 
trials,  and  looks  on  great  ones  with  calm  courage.  View 
it  as  we  will,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable,  that  persever- 
ance is  its  own  reward — 

Never  give  up  !  there  are  chances  and  changes 

Helping  the  hopeful  a  hundred  to  one, 
And  through  the  chaos  High  Wisdom  arranges 

Ever  success — if  you'll  only  hope  on: 
Never  give  up !  for  the  wisest  is  boldest, 

Knowing  that  Providence  mingles  the  cup, 
And  of  all  maxims  the  best,  as  the  oldest, 

Is  the  true  watchword  of— Never  give  up ! 


154       READINGS   FOB   YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 


ADVICE  TO  A  RECKLESS  YOUTH. 

WHAT  would  I  have  you  do  ?     I'll  tell  you,  kinsman  : 

Learn  to  be  wise,  and  practise  how  to  thrive, 

That  would  I  have  you  do  ;  and  not  to  spend 

Your  coin  on  every  bauble  that  you  fancy, 

Or  every  foolish  brain  that  humours  you. 

I  would  not  have  you  to  invade  each  place, 

Nor  thrust  yourself  on  all  societies, 

Till  men's  affections,  or  your  own  desert, 

Should  worthily  invite  you  to  your  rank. 

He  that  is  so  respectless  in  his  courses, 

Oft  sells  his  reputation  at  cheap  market. 

Nor  would  I  you  should  melt  away  yourself 

In  flashing  bravery,  lest,  while  you  affect 

To  make  a  blaze  of  gentry  to  the  world, 

A  little  puff  of  scorn  extinguish  it, 

And  you  be  left  like  an  unsavoury  snuff, 

Whose  property  is  only  to  offend. 

I'd  ha'  you  sober,  and  contain  yourself; 

Not  that  your  sail  be  bigger  than  your  boat ; 

But  moderate  your  expenses  now  (at  first), 

As  you  may  keep  the  same  proportion  still. 

Nor  stand  so  much  on  your  gentility, 

Which  is  an  airy  and  mere  borrowed  thing 

From  dead  men's  dust  and  bones ;  and  none  of  yours, 

Except  you  make,  or  hold  it. 


AND    MEN    OP   BUSINESS.  155 


ADVANTAGES  OF  READING. 

IF  I  were  to  pray  for  a  taste  which  should  stand  me 
instead  under  every  variety  of  circumstances,  and  be  a 
source  of  happiness  and  cheerfulness  to  me  through  life, 
and  a  shield  against  its  ills,  however  things  might  go 
amiss,  and  the  world  frown  upon  me,  it  would  be  a  taste 
for  reading.  I  speak  of  it,  of  course,  only  as  a  worldly 
advantage,  and  not  in  the  slightest  degree  as  superseding 
or  derogating  from  the  higher  office,  and  surer  and 
stronger  panoply  of  religious  principles,  but  as  a  taste,  an 
instrument,  and  a  mode  of  pleasurable  gratification. .  Give 
a  man  this  taste  and  the  means  of  gratifying  it,  and  you 
can  hardly  fail  of  making  a  happy  man,  unless,  indeed, 
you  put  into  his  hands  a  most  perverse  selection  of  books. 
You  place  him  in  contact  with  the  best  society  in  every 
period  of  history — with  the  wisest,  the  wittiest,  with  the 
tenderest,  the  bravest,  and  the  purest  characters  that 
have  adorned  humanity.  You  make  him  a  denizen  of  all 
nations,  a  contemporary  of  all  ages.  The  world  has  been 
created  for  him.  It  is  hardly  possible  but  the  character 
should  take  a  higher  and  better  tone  from  the  constant 
habit  of  associating  in  thought  with  a  class  of  thinkers, 
to  say  the  least  of  it,  above  the  average  of  humanity.  It 
is  morally  impossible  but  that  the  manners  should  take  a 
tinge  o'f  good  breeding  and  civilization  from  having  con- 
stantly before  one's  eyes  the  way  in  which  the  best  bred 
and  the  best  informed  men  have  talked  and  conducted 
themselves  hi  their  intercourse  with  each  other.  There 


156   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

is  a  gentle  but  perfectly  irresistible  coercion  in  a  habit  of 
reading,  well  directed,  over  the  whole  tenor  of  a  man's 
character  and  conduct,  which  is  not  the  less  effectual 
because  it  works  insensibly,  and  because  it  is  really  the 
last  thing  he  dreams  of.  It  cannot,  in  short,  be  better 
summed  up  than  in  the  words  of  the  Latin  poet — 

"  Emollit  mores,  nee  sinit  esse  feros." 

It  civilizes  the  conduct  of  men,  and  suffers  them  not  to 
remain  barbarous. 


RULES  FOR  READING. 

READ  the  best  books  which  wise  and  sensible  persons 
advise,  and  study  them  with  reflection  and  examination, 
that  is,  ask  yourselves,  Do  I  understand  what  I  read  ? 
Do  I  benefit  by  it?  Do  I  become  wiser  and  better 
thereby  ?  Read  with  a  firm  determination  to  make  use 
of  all  you  read ;  do  not,  by  reading,  neglect  a  more  im- 
mediate or  more  important  duty ;  do  not  read  with  a 
view  of  making  a  display  of  your  reading.  Do  not  read 
too  much  at  a  time.  Reflect  on  what  you  have  read, 
and  let  it  be  a  nourishment  of  the  heart  and  soul,  mod- 
erately enjoyed  and  well  digested. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  157 


ADVICE   TO   HIS   SON,  BY  WILLIAM   CECIL, 
LORD  BURLEIGH, 

PRIME  MINISTER  OF  ENGLAND  FOR  HALF  A  CENTURY. 
BORN  1520— DIED  1598. 

SON  ROBERT — The  virtuous  inclinations  of  thy  match- 
less mother,  by  whose  tender  and  godly  care  thy  infancy 
was  governed,  together  with  thy  education  under  so 
zealous  and  excellent  a  tutor,  puts  me  in  rather  assur- 
ance than  hope,  that  thou  art  not  ignorant  of  that  sum- 
mum  bonum  which  is  only  able  to  make  thee  happy  as 
well  in  thy  death  as  life — I  mean,  the  true  knowledge 
and  worship  of  thy  Creator  and  Redeemer;  without 
which  all  other  things  are  vain  and  miserable.  So  that 
thy  youth,  being  guided  by  so  sufficient  a  teacher,  I 
make  no  doubt  but  he  will  furnish  thy  life  with  divine 
and  moral  documents.  Yet,  that  I  may  not  cast  off  the 
care  of  beseeming  a  parent  towards  his  child,  or  that 
thou  shouldst  have  cause  to  derive  thy  whole  felicity  and 
welfare  rather  from  others  than  from  whence  thou  re- 
ceivedst  thy  breath  and  being,  I  think  it  fit  and  agree- 
able to  the  affection  I  bear  thee,  to  help  thee  with  such 
rules  and  advertisements  for  the  squaring  of  thy  life,  as 
are  rather  gained  by  experience  than  by  much  reading ; 
to  the  end  that,  entering  into  this  exorbitant  age,  thou 
mayst  be  the  better  prepared  to  shun  those  scandalous 
courses  whereunto  the  world  and  the  lack  of  experience 
may  easily  draw  thee.  And,  because  I  will  not  confound 
thy  memory,  I  have  reduced  them  into  ten  precepts ; 


158       READINGS    FOB   YOUNG   MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

and,  next  unto  Moses's  tables,  if  thou  imprint  them  in 
thy  mind,  thou  shalt  reap  the  benefit,  and  I  the  content. 
And  they  are  these  following : — 

1.  When  it  shall  please  God  to  bring  thee  to  man's 
estate,  use  great  providence  and  circumspection  in  choos- 
ing thy  wife ;  for  from  thence  will  spring  all  thy  future 
good  or  evil.  And  it  is  an  action  of  life,  like  unto  a 
stratagem  of  war,  wherein  a  man  can  err  but  once.  If 
thy  estate  be  good,  match  near  home  and  at  leisure ;  if 
weak,  far  off  and  quickly.  Inquire  diligently  of  her 
disposition,  and  how  her  parents  have  been  inclined  in 
their  youth.  Let  her  not  be  poor,  how  generous  soever; 
for  a  man  can  buy  nothing  in  the  market  with  gentility. 
Nor  choose  a  base  and  uncomely  creature  altogether  for 
wealth  ;  for  it  will  cause  contempt  in  others,  and  loath- 
ing in  thee.  Neither  make  choice  of  a  dwarf  or  a  fool ; 
for  by  the  one  thou  shalt  beget  a  race  of  pigmies,  the 
other  will  be  thy  continual  disgrace,  and  it  will  yirke 
thee  to  hear  her  talk.  For  thou  shalt  find  it,  to  thy 
great  grief,  that  there  is  nothing  more  fulsome  than  a 
she-fool. 

And,  touching  the  guiding  of  thy  house,  let  thy  hospi- 
tality be  moderate ;  and,  according  to  the  means  of  thy 
estate,  rather  plentiful  than  sparing,  but  not  costly ;  for 
I  never  knew  any  man  grow  poor  by  keeping  an  orderly 
table.  But  some  consume  themselves  through  secret 
vices,  and  their  hospitality  bears  the  blame.  But  banish 
swinish  drunkards  out  of  thine  house,  which  is  a  vice 
impairing  health,  consuming  much,  and  makes  no  show. 
I  never  heard  praise  ascribed  to  the  drunkard  but  for  the 
well  bearing  of  his  drink ;  which  is  a  better  commenda- 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  159 

tion  for  a  brewer's  horse  or  a  drayman,  than  for  either  a 
gentleman  or  a  serving-man.  Beware  thou  spend  not 
above  three  of  four  parts  of  thy  revenues,  nor  above  a 
third  part  of  that  in  thy  house  ;  for  the  other  two  parts 
will  do  no  more  than  defray  thy  extraordinaries,  which 
always  surmount  the  ordinary  by  much  ;  otherwise  thou 
shalt  live  like  a  rich  beggar,  in  continual  want.  And 
the  needy  man  can  never  live  happily  nor  contentedly ; 
for  every  disaster  makes  him  ready  to  mortgage  or  sell. 
And  that  gentleman  who  sells  an  acre  of  land,  sells  an 
ounce  of  credit ;  for  gentility  is  nothing  else  but  ancient 
riches.  So  that,  if  the  foundation  shall  at  any  time  sink, 
the  building  must  need  follow,  so  much  for  the  first 
precept. 

2.  Bring  thy  children  up  in  learning  and  obedience, 
yet  without  outward  austerity.  Praise  them  openly; 
reprehend  them  secretly.  Give  them  good  countenance 
and  convenient  maintenance,  according  to  thy  ability; 
otherwise  thy  life  will  seem  their  bondage,  and  what 
portion  thou  shalt  leave  them  at  thy  death,  they  will 
thank  death  for  it,  and  not  thee.  And  I  am  persuaded 
that  the  foolish  cockering  of  some  parents,  and  the  over- 
stem  carriage  of  others,  causeth  more  men  and  women 
to  take  ill  courses  than  their  own  vicious  inclinations. 
Marry  thy  daughters  in  time,  lest  they  marry  themselves. 
And  suffer  not  thy  sons  to  pass  the  Alps  ;  for  they  shall 
learn  nothing  there  but  pride,  blasphemy,  and  atheism. 
And  if  by  travel  they  get  a  few  broken  languages,  that 
shall  profit  them  nothing  more  than  to  have  one  meat 
served  in  divers  dishes.  Neither  by  my  consent  shalt 
thou  train  them  up  in  wars  ;  for  he  that  sets  up  his  rest 


160       READINGS    FOR    YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

to  live  by  that  profession,  can  hardly  be  an  honest  man 
or  a  good  Christian.  Besides,  it  is  a  science  no  longer 
in  request  than  in  use;  for  soldiers  in  peace  are  like 
chimneys  in  summer. 

3.  Live  not  in  the  country  without  corn  and  cattle 
about  thee ;  for  he  that  putteth  his  hand  to  the  purse  for 
every  expense  of  household,  is   like  him  that  keepeth 
water  in  a  sieve.     And,  what  provision  thou  shalt  want, 
learn  to  buy  it  at  the  best  hand ;  for  there  is  one  penny 
saved  in  four,  betwixt  buying  in  thy  need,  and  when  the 
markets  and  seasons  serve  fittest  for  it.     Be  not  served 
with  kinsmen  or  friends,  or  men  entreated  to  stay,  for 
they  expect  much  and  do  little ;  nor  with  such  as  are 
amorous,  for   their   heads   are   intoxicated.     And   keep 
rather  two  too  few,  than  one  too   many.     Feed   them 
well,  and  pay  them  with  the  most ;  and  then  thou  mayst 
boldly  require  service  at  their  hands. 

4.  Let  thy  kindred  and  allies  be  welcome  to  thy  house 
and  table.     Grace  them  with  thy  countenance,  and  fur- 
ther them  in  all  honest  actions :  for  by  this  means  thou 
shalt  so  double  the  band  of  nature,  as  thou  shalt  find 
them  so  many  advocates  to  plead  an  apology  for  thee 
behind  thy  back.     But   shake  off  those  glow-worms,  I 
mean  parasites  and  sycophants,  who  will  feed  and  fawn 
upon  thee  in  the  summer  of  prosperity,  but,  in  an  ad- 
verse storm  they  will  shelter  thee  no  more  than  an  arbour 
in  winter. 

5.  Beware  of  suretyship  for  thy  best   friends.     He 
that  payeth  another  man's  debts  seeketh  his  own  decay. 
But,  if  thou  canst  not  otherwise  choose,  rather  lend  thy 
money  thyself  upon  good  bonds,  although  thou  borrow  it. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  161 

So  shall  thou  secure  thyself  and  pleasure  thy  friend; 
neither  borrow  money  of  a  neighbour  or  a  friend,  but  of 
a  stranger,  where,  paying  for  it,  thou  shalt  hear  no  more 
of  it.  Otherwise  thou  shalt  lessen  thy  credit,  lose  thy 
freedom,  and  yet  pay  as  dear  as  to  another.  But  in 
borrowing  of  money  be  precious  of  thy  word ;  for  he 
that  hath  care  of  keeping  days  of  payment  is  lord  of 
another  man's  purse. 

6.  Undertake  no  suit  against  a  poor  man  without  re- 
ceiving much  wrong ;  for,  besides  that  thou  makest  him 
thy  compeer,  it  is  a  base  conquest   to   triumph  where 
there  is  small  resistance.     Neither  attempt  law  against 
any  man  before  thou  be  fully  resolved  that  thou  hast 
right  on  thy  side,  and  then  spare  not  for  either  money 
or  pains  ;  for  a  cause  or  two  so  followed,  and  obtained, 
will  free  thee  from  suits  a  great  part  of  thy  life. 

7.  Be  sure  to  keep  some  great  man  thy  friend,  but 
trouble  him  not  for  trifles.     Compliment  him  often  with 
many,  yet  small  gifts,  and  of  little  charge.     And,  if  thou 
hast  cause  to  bestow  any  great  gratuity,  let  it  be  some- 
thing which  may  be  daily  in  sight ;  otherwise,  in  this  am- 
bitious age,  thou  shalt  remain  like  a  hop  without  a  pole, 
live  in  obscurity,  and  be  made  a  football  for  every  insult- 
ing companion  to  spurn  at. 

8.  Towards  thy  superiors  be  humble,  yet  generous. 
With  thine  equals  familiar,  yet  respectful.     Towards  thy 
inferiors  show  much  humanity  and  some  familiarity ;  as 
to  bow  the  body,  stretch  forth  the  hand,  and  to  uncover 
the  head,  with  such  like  popular  compliments.     The  first 
prepares  thy  way  to  advancement ;  the  second  makes 
thee  known  for  a  man  well  bred ;  the  third  gains  a  good 

11 


162   READINGS  FOB  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

report,  which,  once  got,  is  easily  kept.  For  right  human- 
ity takes  such  deep  root  in  the  minds  of  the  multitude,  as 
they  are  easilier  gained  by  unprofitable  courtesies  than 
by  churlish  benefits.  Yet  I  advise  thee  not  to  affect,  or 
neglect,  popularity  too  much.  Seek  not  to  be  Essex ; 
shun  to  be  Raleigh. 

9.  Trust  not  any  man  with  thy  life,  credit,  or  estate ; 
for  it  is  mere  folly  for  a  man  to  enthral  himself  to  his 
friend,  as  though,  occasion  being  offered,  he  should  not 
dare  to  become  the  enemy. 

10.  Be  not  scurrilous  in  conversation,  nor  satirical  in 
thy  jests.     The  one  will  make  thee  unwelcome  to  all 
company,  the  other  pull  on  quarrels,  and  get  the  hatred 
of  thy  best  friends  ;  for  suspicious  jests  (when  any  of 
them  savour  of  truth)  leave  a  bitterness  in  the  minds  of 
those  which  are  touched.     And,  albeit  I  have  already 
pointed  at  this  inclusively,  yet  I  think  it  necessary  to 
leave  it  to  thee  as  a  special  caution ;  because  I  have  seen 
many  so  prone  to  quip  and  gird,  as  they  would  rather 
leese  their  friend  than  their  jest.     And  if,  perchance, 
their  boiling  brain  yield  a  quaint  scoff,  they  will  travail 
to  be  delivered  of  it  as  a  woman  with  child.     These 
nimble  fancies  are  but  the  froth  of  wit. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  163 


NECESSARY  HINTS  TO  THOSE   THAT  WOULD 
BE   RICH. 

Written  in  the   Year  1763. 

THE  use  of  money  is  all  the  advantage  there  is  in  hav- 
ing money. 

For  six  pounds  a-year  you  may  have  the  use  of  one 
hundred  pounds,  provided  you  are  a  man  of  known  pru- 
dence and  honesty. 

He  that  spends  a  groat  a-day  idly,  spends  idly  above 
six  pounds  a-year,  which  is  the  price  for  the  use  of  one 
hundred  pounds. 

He  that  wastes  idly  a  groat's  worth  of  his  time  per 
day,  one  day  with  another,  wastes  the  privilege  of  using 
one  hundred  pounds  each  day. 

He  that  idly  loses  five  shillings'  worth  of  time,  loses  five 
shillings,  and  might  as  prudently  throw  five  shillings  into 
the  sea. 

He  that  loses  five  shillings,  not  only  loses  that  sum,  but 
all  the  advantages  that  might  be  made  by  turning  it  in 
dealing ;  which,  by  the  time  that  a  young  man  becomes 
old,  will  amount  to  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 

Again :  He  that  sells  upon  credit,  asks  a  price  for  what 
he  sells  equivalent  to  the  principal  and  interest  of  his 
money  for  the  time  he  is  to  be  kept  out  of  it ;  therefore 
he  that  buys  upon  credit,  pays  interest  for  what  he  buys  ; 
and  he  that  pays  ready  money,  might  let  that  money  out 
to  use ;  so  that  he  that  possesses  any  thing  he  has  bought, 
pays  interest  for  the  use  of  it. 


164   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

Yet,  in  buying  goods,  it  is  best  to  pay  ready  money, 
because  he  that  sells  upon  credit  expects  to  lose  five  per 
cent,  by  bad  debts ;  therefore  he  charges  on  all  he  sells 
upon  credit  an  advance  that  shall  make  up  that  defi- 
ciency. 

Those  who  pay  for  what  they  buy  upon  credit,  pay 
their  share  of  this  advance. 

He  that  pays  ready  money,  escapes,  or  may  escape, 
that  charge. 

A  penny  saved  is  twopence  clear; 
A  pin  a-day  's  a  groat  a-year. 


THE  WAY  TO  MAKE  MONEY  PLENTY  IN 
EVERY  MAN'S  POCKET. 

AT  this  time,  when  the  general  complaint  is  that 
"  money  is  scarce,"  it  will  be  an  act  of  kindness  to  inform 
the  moneyless  how  they  may  reinforce  their  pockets.  I 
will  acquaint  them  with  the  true  secret  of  money-catching 
— the  certain  way  to  fill  empty  purses — and  how  to  keep 
them  always  full.  Two  simple  rules,  well  observed,  will 
do  the  business. 

First,  Let  honesty  and  industry  be  thy  constant  com- 
panions ;  and 

Second,  Spend  one  penny  less  than  thy  clear  gains. 

Then  shall  thy  hide-bound  pocket  soon  begin  to  thrive, 
and  shall  never  again  cry  with  the  empty  belly-ache  ; 
neither  will  creditors  insult  thee,  nor  want  oppress,  nor 
hunger  bite,  nor  nakedness  freeze  thee.  The  whole 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  165 

hemisphere  will  shine  brighter,  and  pleasure  spring  up 
in  every  corner  of  thy  heart.  Now,  therefore,  embrace 
these  rules  and  be  happy.  Banish  the  bleak  winds  of 
sorrow  from  thy  mind,  and  live  independent.  Then  shalt 
thou  be  a  man,  and  not  hide  thy  face  at  the  approach  of 
the  rich,  nor  suffer  the  pain  of  feeling  little  when  the 
sons  of  fortune  walk  at  thy  right  hand  ;  for  independency, 
whether  with  little  or  much,  is  good  fortune,  and  placeth 
thee  on  even  ground  with  the  proudest  of  the  golden 
fleece.  Oh  then,  be  wise,  and  let  industry  walk  with 
thee  in  the  morning,  and  attend  thee  until  thou  reachest 
the  evening  hour  for  rest !  Let  honesty  be  as  the  breath 
of  thy  soul,  and  never  forget  to  have  a  penny,  when  all 
thy  expenses  are  enumerated  and  paid  ;  then  shalt  thou 
reach  the  point  of  happiness,  and  independence  shall  be 
thy  shield  and  buckler,  thy  helmet  and  crown ;  then  shall 
thy  soul  walk  upright,  nor  stoop  to  the  silken  wretch 
because  he  hath  riches,  nor  pocket  an  abuse  because  the 
hand  which  offers  it  wears  a  ring  set  with  diamonds  ! 


ADVICE   TO   A   YOUNG  TRADESMAN. 
Written  in  the   Tear  1748. 

As  you  have  desired  it  of  me,  I  write  the  following 
hints,  which  have  been  of  service  to  me,  and  may,  if  ob- 
served, be  so  to  you  : — 

Remember  that  time  is  money.     He  that  can  earn  ten 


166       READINGS    FOR    YOUNG    MEN,    MERCHANTS, 

shillings  a-day  by  his  labour,  and  goes  abroad  or  sits  idle 
one  half  of  that  day,  though  he  spends  but  sixpence  dur- 
ing his  diversion  or  idleness,  ought  not  to  reckon  that  the 
only  expense ;  he  has  really  spent,  or  rather  thrown  away, 
five  shillings  besides. 

Remember  that  credit  is  money.  If  a  man  lets  his 
money  lie  in  my  hands  after  it  is  due,  he  gives  me  the 
interest,  or  so  much  as  I  can  make  of  it,  during  that  time. 
This  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum  where  a  man  has 
good  and  large  credit,  and  makes  good  use  of  it. 

Remember  that  money  is  of  a  prolific,  generating  na- 
ture. Money  can  beget  money,  and  its  offspring  can  beget 
more,  and  so  on.  Five  shillings  turned  is  six ;  turned 
again  it  is  seven  and  three  pence  :  and  so  on  till  it  be- 
comes a  hundred  pounds.  The  more  there  is  of  it,  the 
more  it  produces  every  turning,  so  that  the  profits  rise 
quicker  and  quicker.  He  that  kills  a  breeding  sow,  de- 
stroys all  her  offspring  to  the  thousandth  generation.  He 
that  murders  a  crown,  destroys  all  that  it  might  have  pro- 
duced, even  scores  of  pounds. 

Remember  that  six  pounds  a-year  is  but  a  groat  a-day. 
For  this  little  sum  (which  may  be  daily  wasted  either  in 
time  or  expense,  unperceived)  a  man  of  credit  may,  on 
his  own  security,  have  the  constant  possession  and  use  of 
a  hundred  pounds.  So  much  in  stock,  briskly  turned  by 
an  industrious  man,  produces  great  advantage. 

Remember  this  saying — "  The  good  paymaster  is  lord 
of  another  man's  purse."  He  that  is  known  to  pay  punc- 
tually and  exactly  to  the  time  he  promises,  may  at  any 
time,  and  on  any  occasion,  raise  all  the  money  his  friends 
can  spare.  This  is  sometimes  of  great  use.  After  in- 


AND    MEN    OF    BUSINESS.  167 

dustry  and  frugality,  nothing  contributes  more  to  the 
raising  of  a  young  man  in  the  world  than  punctuality 
and  justice  in  all  his  dealings  ;  therefore  never  keep 
borrowed  money  an  hour  beyond  the  time  you  prom- 
ised, lest  a  disappointment  shut  up  your  friend's  purse 
for  ever. 

The  most  trifling  actions  that  affect  a  man's  credit  are 
to  be  regarded.  The  sound  of  your  hammer  at  five  in 
the  morning,  or  nine  at  night,  heard  by  a  creditor,  makes 
him  easy  six  months  longer ;  but  if  he  sees  you  at  a 
billiard-table,  or  hears  your  voice  at  a  tavern,  when  you 
should  be  at  work,  he  sends  for  his  money  the  next  day  ; 
demands  it  before  he  can  receive  it  in  a  lump. 

It  shows,  besides,  that  you  are  mindful  of  what  you 
owe  ;  it  makes  you  appear  a  careful  as  well  as  an  honest 
man,  and  that  still  increases  your  credit. 

Beware  of  thinking  all  your  own  that  you  possess, 
and  of  living  accordingly.  It  is  a  mistake  that  many 
people  who  have  credit  fall  into.  To  prevent  this  keep 
an  exact  account,  for  some  time,  both  of  your  expenses 
and  your  income.  If  you  take  the  pains  at  first  to  men- 
tion particulars,  it  will  have  this  good  effect ;  you  will 
discover  how  wonderfully  small  trifling  expenses  mount 
up  to  large  sums,  and  will  discern  what  might  have  been, 
and  may  for  the  future  be  saved,  without  occasioning  any 
great  inconvenience. 

In  short,  the  way  to  wealth,  if  you  desire  it,  is  as 
plain  as  the  way  to  market.  It  depends  chiefly  on  two 
words,  industry  and  frugality  ;  that  is,  waste  neither  time 
nor  money,  but  make  the  best  use  of  both.  Without  in- 
dustry and  frugality  nothing  will  do,  and  with  them  every 


168   READINGS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN,  MERCHANTS, 

thing.  He  that  gets  all  he  can  honestly,  and  saves  all  he 
gets  (necessary  expenses  excepted),  will  certainly  become 
rich — if  that  Being  who  governs  the  world,  to  whom  all 
should  look  for  a  blessing  on  their  honest  endeavours, 
doth  not  in  his  wise  providence  otherwise  determine. 


APHORISMS  FOR  BUSINESS  MEN. 

Two  of  the  most  precious  things  on  this  side  the  grave 
are  reputation  and  life  ;  and  yet,  strange  to  tell,  the  most 
contemptible  whisper  may  deprive  us  of  the  first,  and  the 
weakest  weapon  of  the  second !  Be  more  anxious,  there- 
fore, to  deserve  a  good  name  than  to  possess  it. 

"  Remember  that  one  broken  promise  creates  twenty 
doubts  ;  therefore,  before  you  promise,  consider  what  you 
undertake ;  and,  having  undertaken,  do  not  fail  to  per- 
form. It  is  far  easier  to  make  a  promise  convenient  to 
yourself,  than  to  make  a  new  arrangement  when  a  prom- 
ise is  once  violated." 

"  Call  upon  a  man  of  business,  upon  matters  of  busi- 
ness, in  the  hours  of  business ;  transact  your  business ; 
and,  when  you  have  done  your  business,  go  about  your 
business,  that  the  person  called  upon  may  transact  his 
business." 

When  I  hear  a  man  complain  of  being  unfortunate  in 
all  his  undertakings,  I  shrewdly  suspect  him  for  very 
weak  in  the  conduct  of  his  affairs. 

When  you  purchase  any  thing,  appear  to  know  your 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  169 

own  mind,  and  act  with  promptitude ;  be  manly,  down- 
right, and  quick  ;  the  vender  will  then  see  that  you  know 
your  own  business,  and  will  fix  his  price  at  once. 

There  are  some  persons  who  never  succeed,  from  being 
too  indolent  to  undertake  any  thing  ;  and  others  who  reg- 
ularly fail,  because  the  instant  they  find  success  in  their 
power,  they  grow  indifferent,  and  give  over  the  attempt. 
Indolence  is  a  stream  that  flows  slowly  on,  but  under- 
mines the  foundation  of  every  virtue. 

Every  man  ought  to  aim  at  eminence,  not  by  pulling 
others  down,  but  by  raising  himself;  and  enjoy  the  pleas- 
ures of  his  own  superiority,  whether  imaginary  or  real, 
without  interrupting  the  felicity  of  others. 

A  certain  amount  of  opposition  is  a  great  help  to  man. 
Kites  I'ise  against  and  not  with  the  wind.  Even  a  head 
wind  is  better  than  none.  No  man  ever  worked  his  pas- 
sage anywhere  in  a  dead  calm.  Let  no  man  wax  pale, 
therefore,  because  of  opposition.  Opposition  is  what  he 
wants,  and  must  have,  to  be  good  for  any  thing.  Hard- 
ship is  the  native  soil  of  manhood  and  self-reliance.  He 
that  cannot  abide  th'e  storm  without  flinching  or  quailing, 
strips  himself  in  the  sunshine,  and  lies  down  by  the  way- 
side to  be  overlooked  and  forgotten.  He  who  but  braces 
himself  to  the  struggle  when  the  wind  blows,  gives  up 
when  they  have  done,  and  falls  asleep  in  the  stillness 
that  follows. 

Be  not  too  diffident  of  thyself;  those  who  are  always 
afraid  of  falling,  do  nothing  but  stumble. 

Be  punctual.  Let  there  be  a  time  for  every  thing, 
and  every  thing  done  in  its  time.  In  all  your  engage- 
ments let  an  hour  be  named,  and  keep  it. 


170       READINGS    FOB    YOUNG   MEN,   MERCHANTS, 

Every  man  who  acquires  a  fortune  by  industry,  is  a 
treasure  to  himself  and  family,  and  a  profit  to  his 
country,  by  adding  to  the  common  stock.  It  becomes 
a  bond  which  unites  him  to  society. 

A  company  of  idle  persons  can  keep  each  other  in 
countenance  to  any  extent,  while  there  are  few  who 
cannot  be  made  ashamed  of  idleness,  by  having  before 
them  an  example  of  industry. 

TO-MORROW. — The  day  on  which  idle  men  work, 
and  fools  give  up  their  folly ;  and  sinners  repent  and 
believe,  and  reform  their  character  and  life. 

A  FIRM  YET  PLIANT  CHARACTER. — Men  of  this 
species  resemble  fountains,  whose  water-columns  a  sud- 
den gust  of  wind  may  drive  aslant,  or  scatter  in  spray 
across  the  lawn  ;  but,  the  violence  past,  they  play  up- 
ward as  truly  and  as  strong  as  ever. 

Action  is  really  the  life,  business,  and  test  of  the 
soul;  but  idleness,  as  SOUTH  says,  offers  up  the  soul 
as  a  blank  to  the  evil  one,  for  him  to  write  his  name 
upon. 

A  fool  says,  "  I  can't ; "  a  wise  man  says,  "  I'll  try." 

Young  man,  whatever  be  your  calling  in  life,  how- 
ever humble  or  however  elevated,  be  in  earnest ! 

It  is  not  our  earnings,  but  our  savings,  that  make 
us  rich. 

Be  like  a  tree ;  its  extreme  branches  are  flexible, 
even  its  lesser  boughs  are  not  so  stiff  as  that  you 
cannot  anywhere  bend  them ;  but  as  for  the  trunk 
and  the  principal  branches,  do  your  utmost  you  cannot 
break  them. 

The  trials  of  life  are  the  tests  which  ascertain  how 
much  gold  there  is  in  us. 


AND    MEN    OF   BUSINESS.  171 


MORAL  AGRICULTURE. 

TAKE  the  Spade  of  Perseverance, 

Dig  the  Field  of  Progress  wide  ; 
Every  bar  to  true  Instruction 

Carry  out  and  cast  aside. 
Feed  the  Plant  whose  Fruit  is  Wisdom 

Cleanse  from  crime  the  common  Sod ; 
So  that  from  the  Throne  of  Heaven 

It  may  bear  the  glance  of  God. 


COURAGE. 

HAVE  the  courage  to  tell  a  man  why  you  will  not  lend 
him  your  money. 

Have  the  courage  to  wear  your  old  garments  till  you 
can  pay  for  new  ones. 

Have  the  courage  to  pass  the  bottle  without  filling 
your  glass. 

Have  the  courage  to  speak  your  mind  when  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  you  should  do  so  ;  and  to  hold  your  tongue 
when  it  is  better  that  you  should  be  silent. 

Have  the  courage  to  discharge  a  debt  while  you  have 
the  money  in  your  pocket.. 

Have  the  courage  to  provide  an  entertainment  for 
your  friends  within  your  means,  not  beyond. 


172          READINGS    FOR    YOUNG   MEN,   ETC.   ETC. 

Have  the  courage  to  own  that  you  are  poor,  if  you 
are  so. 

Have  the  courage  to  obey  your  Maker,  at  the  risk  of 
being  ridiculed  by  man. 


FOUR  GOOD  WORDS. 

Punctuality,  Accuracy,  Steadiness,  and  Despatch. 

PUNCTUALITY. 

IF  you  desire  to  enjoy  life,  avoid  unpunctual  people. 
They  impede  business  and  poison  pleasure.  Make  it 
your  own  rule  to  be  not  only  punctual,  but  a  little  before- 
hand. Such  a  habit  secures  a  composure  which  is  essen- 
tial to  happiness.  For  want  of  it,  many  people  live  in  a 
constant  fever,  and  put  all  about  them  in  a  fever  too. 

A  merchant  ought  to  acquire  and  maintain  an  easiness 
of  manner — a  suavity  of  address — and  a  gentlemanly  de- 
portment ;  without  which,  the  finest  talents  and  the  most 
valuable  mental  acquirements  are  often  incapable  of  re- 
alizing the  brilliant  expectations  which  they  induce  their 
possessors  to  form. 


Catalogue 


OF 

NSTRUCTIVE   AND    ENTERTAINING    BOOKS, 

Intended  to  cultivate  the  Affections,  Sympathies,  Tastes,  Fancy 
and  Imagination  of  Children. 

Statable   for   (Sifts, 


Every-day  Reading,  Juvenile,  Family,  Parish, 
Social,  and  School  Libraries. 

"  Few  persons,  we  suspect,  adequately  appreciate  the  vast  advan- 
tages of  the  present  generation  over  any  preceding  one,  in  regard  to 
Rooks  adapted  to  aid  the  Juvenile  Mind." 


"Book*  which  are  Books." 


PUBLISHED   BY 

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AND 

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BY   REV.    DR.   GREENWOOD. 

A  VOLUME  OF 

SERMONS    TO    CHILDREN. 

"  "We  can  commend  the  volume  to  parents,  that  they  may 
obtain  it  for  their  children,  and  to  children,  that  they  may 
read  it  for  themselves.  We  believe  these  sermons  will  be 
read  with  as  much  interest  as  any  of  the  little  novels  with 
which  the  press  teems,  and  with  more  profit."  —  Examiner. 


21  Book  for  Doting 

LECTURES  ON  THEIR  MORAL  DANGERS  AND 

DUTIES. 

BY  ABIEL  ABBOT   LIVERMORE, 
AUTHOR  or  "  COMMENTARY  ON  THE  GOSPELS  "  AND  "  AcTi." 
t^f  An  admirable  book  for  Clerks  and  Apprentices. 

"  With  earnestness  and  distinctness  the  duties  of  young 
men  are  carefully  defined,  in  a  way  which  will  command  TP- 
spect  and  attention."  —  Boston  Daily  Advertiser 


A  WORLD-WIDE  FAVORITE  AUTHORESS, 

WITH  YOUNG  AND   OLD, 

IS    MISS    PLANCHE,    NOW    MRS.  MACKARNESS. 

A   NEW   SUNBEAM  STORY, 

COMING    HOJN/CE, 

BY   THE  AUTHOR  OP 

A    TRAP    TO    CATCH    A    SUNBEAM. 

THE    DREAM    CHINTZ. 

THE    STAR    IN    THE    DESERT. 

THE    HOUSE    ON    THE    HOCK. 

OLD    JOLLIFFE,    ONLY,    AND    MERRY    CHRISTMAS. 

THE    CLOUD    WITH    THE    SILVER    LINING-. 

THE    SEQUEL    TO    OLD    JOLLIFFE,   etc. 

18mo,  cloth,  stamped,  25  cts.  each. 
*»*    Copies  sent  free  of  postage  on  remittance  of  above  price. 

Published  by  JAMES  MDSBOK  &  CO.  1M  Washington  St.,  Boston, 


A  TRAP    TO    CATCH  A   SUNBEAM.    40th  Edition. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  charming  stories  we  ever  read ;  it  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  new-fonnd  violet,  or  an  early  primrose,  or  the  first  May  rose, 
or  the  song  of  the  lark,  floating  between  heaven  and  earth ;  it  is  real, 
simple,  pure  in  intention,  and  full  of  the  best  philosophy.— Art  Journal, 
London. 

This  is  one  of  those  improvisations  of  pure  lyrics,  like  the  Christmas 
stories  of  Dickens,  allegorical  in  outline,  but  full  of  humanity  at  the  core, 
poetically  conceived,  but  developed  with  reference  to  great  practical  truth. 
—  Willis's  Home  Journal. 

We  do  not  wonder  that  her  books  are  called  "  Sunbeam  Stories,"  for 
they  are  full  of  heart  sunshine,  and  diffuse  it  wherever  they  are  read.  — 
New  Hampshire  Patriot. 

ONLY,   ONLY  A   SHILLING-.    12th  Edition. 

This  is  one  of  those  kind  of  books  of  which  no  fault  can  be  found,  and 
the  more  we  have  of  them  the  better.  —  Norfolk  Democrat. 

OLD   JOLLIFFE.    NOT  A   GOBLIN   STORY.    By  the  Spirit  of  a 
little  Bell  awakened  by  "  The  Chimes."    6th  Edition. 
A  pretty  litfle  book  to  make  the  little  folks'  eyes  sparkle  and  hearts 
lance.  —  Puritan  Recorder. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  tale,  founded  on  fact,  inculcating  a  most  sal- 
utary lesson.  —Philadelphia  Observer. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


THE  SEQUEL  TO  OLD  JOLLIFFE.    Written  in  the  same  Spirit 

by  the  same  Spirit.    4th.  Edition. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  of  this  very  agreeable  series  of  books. 
—  Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

A  MEB.HY  CHRISTMAS.    6th  Edition. 

We  call  attention  to  the  little  work  before  us.  The  story  is  prettily  con- 
ceived, and  well  told.  —  St.  James's  Magazine. 

THE  DBEAM   CHINTZ.    6th  Edition. 

The  tale  is  admirably  appropriate  to  the  times;  and  the  purity  of  the 
sentiments  and  the  simplicity  of  the  narrative  are  truly  captivating.  — 
London  Art  Journal. 

We  wish  that  every  body  would  read  this  and  the  kindred  works  of  the 
author.  —  Bangor  Daily  Whig. 

The  spirit  of  the  work  is  unexceptionable,  and  the  execution  highly 
pleasing.  The  book  id  calculated  to  do  good  as  well  as  interest. — Portland 
Transcript. 

THE   CLOUD   WITH  THE   SILVEB,  LINING.    10th  Edition. 

More  beautiful  stories  were  never  written ;  and  good  as  their  tendency 
invariably  is,  it  is  no  marvel  that  they  are  such  universal  favorites.  — 


Miss  Planch^  is  a  captivating  writer,  and  always  throws  a  gleam  of  sun- 
shine upon  whatever  her  pen  portrays.  Even  the  dark  clouds  which  rest 
upon  the  horizon  of  life  are  dispelled  or  lined  with  silver.  No  one  can 
read  her  little  volumes  without  feeling  happier  from  the  influence  of  so 
genial  a  disposition.  —  The  Student. 

THE   HOUSE   ON   THE  BOCK.    6th  Edition. 

This  is  an  admirable  little  volume ;  admirable  in  its  construction,  style, 
and,  above  all,  in  the  parity  of  the  sentiments  (whether  of  the  heart, 
head,  or  soul)  it  expresses,  and  we  are  quite  confident  that  its  reception 
will  be  warm  and  general  amongst  our  fair  readers. — Sunday  Times, 
London. 

THE    STAK  IN  THE  DESEKT.    3d  Edition. 

It  is  sufficient  to  announce  this  little  IrocJiure  to  insure  it  a  wide  circu- 
lation. The  author  has  already  established  her  reputation  for  writing 
beautiful  and  affecting  tales ;  and  we  need  only  say  that  this  is  equal  to 
her  former  efforts.  We  commend  it  most  heartily  to  our  readers.  —  Al- 
bany Times. 

There  are  novels  protracted  through  a  second,  and  even  third  volume, 
which  have  less  merit  than  this,  which  may  be  read  in  an  hour. —  Chris- 
tian Mirror,  Portland.  • 


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